Nearly 100,000 Americans suffer from a blood disorder called Sickle Cell Anemia, a painful disease that shortens life-expectancy. Sickle cells aren’t round – they’re shaped like a crescent moon and Radio Rookie Bree Person hates looking at them. Sometimes she hates talking about them, too – but she put together this report nevertheless.

Bree Person, Radio Rookie, talks about having sickle cell anemia and what the diagnosis means for her and her family. Pediatrician Suzette Oyeku also joins us to explain what sickle cell is, and what developments in treatment mean for those who have the inherited blood disorder.

Dr. Oyeku is a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore and on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, and serves as project director for the Working to Improve Sickle Cell Healthcare program at the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality.

I've had Sickle Cell Anemia since the day I was born—17 years ago. Despite what some of my friends think, Sickle Cell is not a disease you can get rid of! September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month and I thought I’d take the time to remember my Uncle Jhonnie.