Changing How We Treat Systemic Sclerosis

In this three-part series dedicated to the physician's perspective on living with a rare disease, Conference Forum reporter Danny McCarthy sits down with Tracy Frech, MD, to discuss Systemic Sclerosis. Tracy Frech, MD, is a rheumatologist at the University of Utah. At the university, she is the Director of the Systemic Sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma) Clinic at the University of Utah Hospital and the Director of Clinical Trials for the Division of Rheumatology. In her work, Dr Frech treats patients with, and runs clinical trials on, systemic sclerosis, a complex autoimmune disease characterized by pervasive inflammation and fibrosis, and can lead to progressive vascular and organ damage. Dr Frech talks about the disease, current treatment and taking a more holistic approach to treating SSc. In the interview, Dr Frech references the education resource TotalSSc.com., a new disease education campaign website for healthcare providers focused on the “totality in systemic sclerosis”.