The MPN Community needs a Celebrity Spokesperson to bring awareness of our “Rare Blood Disease”
by David Wallace
I’m saddened to hear that former Kentucky first lady and Miss America, Phyllis George passed away from a “rare blood disease” at 70. She was a true pioneer in the TV broadcast industry, as the first woman to host a national TV sports show on the NFL Today. She fought Polycythemia Vera (PV) for over 30 years and died from complications related to PV. May she rest in peace ❤️.I wish the fact she had Polycythemia Vera was more prominent in the articles on her death. She would have been a first-class “celebrity spokesperson” for our cause, MPN Awareness.
👉🏼 December 2020 Update
Pamela Brown, CNN White House Correspondent and Phyllis George’s daughter, shares “heartbreaking” details on the loss of her mother from PV during challenging times of the Covid pandemic:
“My mom, Phyllis George, was anchoring CBS morning news, flying back and forth on the weekends from New York to Kentucky where my brother and I lived. She was under crushing scrutiny with god awful hours and it didn’t take long for the headaches and dizzy spells to kick in. She thought it was just the stress of the job, but after throwing up in the tulips in front of our home, she got checked out and 35 years ago, the official diagnosis came: polycythemia vera — a rare blood cancer that makes your blood too thick.” – read the entire story here.
Articles below provide more details, only a few “news stories” flooding the web even mention she had Polycythemia Vera, PV.
- Phyllis George, former Miss America and First Lady of Kentucky, dies of rare blood disease at age 70
As a patient advocacy leader, I do my best to spread awareness of MPNs and Polycythemia Vera.
