CDC Launches Video Series on Story of Aaron Cheng
October 8, 2020 – CAF and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are excited to announce the launch of a new video series highlighting the story of Aaron Cheng, a physician in training who is living with thalassemia. In this series, Aaron shares his experiences growing up with thalassemia and provides tips for others on how to manage the condition while living their best life.
Aaron Cheng’s family learned that he had thalassemia when he was 8 months old. In the videos below, Aaron shares how he learned about thalassemia and overcame many challenges in managing his disorder. Aaron also shares how thalassemia influenced his passion to become a physician. The 4-part video series includes the following segments:
1.Learning About Thalassemia: Learning about thalassemia can be challenging for any family because of the variety of tests and treatments that people with thalassemia are faced with throughout their lifetime. In this video, Aaron shares how his family learned about his diagnosis.
2. Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Thalassemia Care: As children with thalassemia move into young adulthood, they take on more responsibility for managing their blood disorder and its treatment. This time is called transition. In this video, Aaron shares how he transitioned and took more responsibility for managing thalassemia as a college student and also during medical school.
3. Managing Transfusions and Chelation: Many people with thalassemia require frequent blood transfusions as a part of treatment. They also may require chelation, a treatment that helps prevent iron overload in the organs. In this video, Aaron shares how he prepares for transfusions, stays on track with his treatments, and balances thalassemia treatment with his busy life.
4. Living with Thalassemia: Living with thalassemia can present many challenges, but it does not have to define one’s life. In this video, Aaron shares his tips for successfully living with thalassemia and what other people can do to help people with thalassemia, as well as his passion for becoming a physician.
Aaron’s videos can be accessed at: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/thalassemia/materials/index.html?ACSTrackingID=USCDC_1025-DM40059&ACSTrackingLabel=New%20Video%20Series%20on%20Thalassemia&deliveryName=USCDC_1025-DM40059