Campaign and Vote to have the Next Step College Tour (2011) come to your school or town.
EVENING CONCERT
Look forward to celebrity hosts and celebrity guest performers.
BASKETBALL COMPETITION
The tour includes a celebrity basketball game. Sororities and Fraternities from your school will play with and against sports figures and celebrity invited guest.
EXPO
Attend the Expo and enjoy the Digital Lounge provided by our corporate sponsors the digital lounges will be tricked out with interactive equipment:
- Computers
- LCD television screens
- mp3 Player Stations
- An internet cafe
- Gaming consoles
FASHION SHOW
The fashion show will begin. This will be the Beats and Urban Chic runway style Fashion event, which will include music performances and dance.
DANCE COMPETITION
There will be dance competitions/battles between schools, and individuals.
What Is Sickle Cell Anemia?
Sickle cell anemia (uh-NEE-me-uh) is the most common form of sickle cell disease (SCD). SCD is a serious disorder in which the body makes sickle-shaped red blood cells. “Sickle-shaped” means that the red blood cells are shaped like a crescent.
Normal red blood cells are disc-shaped and look like doughnuts without holes in the center. They move easily through your blood vessels. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin (HEE-muh-glow-bin), an iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
Sickle cells contain abnormal hemoglobin that causes the cells to have a sickle, or crescent, shape. These cells don't move easily through your blood vessels. They're stiff and sticky and tend to form clumps and get stuck in the blood vessels. (Other cells also may play a role in this clumping process.)
The clumps of sickle cells block blood flow in the blood vessels in the limbs and organs. Blocked blood vessels can cause pain, serious infections, and organ damage.
Figure A shows normal red blood cells flowing freely in a blood vessel. The inset image shows a cross-section of a normal red blood cell with normal hemoglobin. Figure B shows abnormal, sickled red blood cells clumping and blocking blood flow in a blood vessel. (Other cells also may play a role in this clumping process.) The inset image shows a cross-section of a sickle cell with abnormal hemoglobin forming abnormal strands.Overview
Sickle cell anemia is one type of anemia. Anemia is a condition in which your blood has a lower than normal number of red blood cells. This condition also can occur if your red blood cells don't contain enough hemoglobin.
Red blood cells are made in the spongy marrow inside the large bones of the body. Bone marrow is always making new red blood cells to replace old ones. Normal red blood cells live about 120 days in the bloodstream and then die. They carry oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) from your body.
In sickle cell anemia, the number of red blood cells is low because sickle cells don't last very long. Sickle cells usually die after only about 10 to 20 days. The bone marrow can't make new red blood cells fast enough to replace the dying ones.
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited, lifelong disease. People who have the disease are born with it. They inherit two copies of the sickle cell gene—one from each parent.
People who inherit a sickle cell gene from one parent and a normal gene from the other parent have a condition called sickle cell trait.
Sickle cell trait is different than sickle cell anemia. People who have sickle cell trait don't have the disease, but they have one of the genes that cause it. Like people who have sickle cell anemia, people who have sickle cell trait can pass the sickle cell gene on to their children.
Outlook
Sickle cell anemia has no widely available cure. However, treatments can help with the symptoms and complications of the disease. Blood and marrow stem cell transplants may offer a cure for a small number of people.
Over the past 100 years, doctors have learned a great deal about sickle cell anemia. They know its causes, how it affects the body, and how to treat many of its complications.
Sickle cell anemia varies from person to person. Some people who have the disease have chronic (long-term) pain or fatigue (tiredness). However, with proper care and treatment, many people who have the disease can have improved quality of life and reasonable health much of the time.
Due to improved treatments and care, people who have sickle cell anemia are now living into their forties or fifties, or longer.
