Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract which causes a variety of symptoms, including diarrhea, cramps, fatigue, and reduced appetite. The donor of this collection was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in the late 1960s and joined several Oregonian and national organizations for information and support. Since the symptoms of Crohn's can cause both physical and emotional distress, support is an important factor, and this collection chronicles relationships with the disease and with other people living with it.
Collection donated by Nancy Diamond in 2017.
[Collection title], Collection Number [####-###], Oregon Health & Science University, Historical Collections & Archives.
OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.
There are no restrictions on access. This collection is open to the public.
The Crohn's Support Group collection, which dates from circa 1980 to 2007, consists of newsletters, organizational communications, pamphlets, recipes, and research on alternative treatments, documenting decades of active involvement with the Crohn's community. The collection documents the ephemera of one person's history of illness, as well as the community of illness that surrounded her. Although largely limited to published materials - newsletters and other communications from support groups - it is an in-depth chronicle of the ways that people with chronic illnesses interacted with each other in the 1980s and 1990s. From these records, we can learn how support groups saw and presented themselves at a historical moment when a community of the sick was still a new idea. The collection will be of interest to researchers of the medical history of Crohn's, the history of peer support and advocacy among the chronically ill, and the ways that doctors through the years have explained Crohn's and headed off myths about its causes.