In 2019, Jeni Doerr finally received a diagnosis for her recent illnesses – pancolitis. Doerr, 35, from Newhall, CA, is featured in AAM’s recently released Generic Drug & Biosimilars Access & Savings in the U.S. report.
In a suburb of Santa Clarita, California, Jeni recently went back to school to become a medical coder (someone who helps doctors and insurance companies speak the same language), and when she is not online learning she is enjoying everything the state has to offer—hiking, rock climbing and mountain biking with her dog Sally. “If you take me outside, I’m a happy girl,” she says. “Illness changed everything.”
“Every time I went to the bathroom,” she recalls, “I would lose blood and I couldn’t eat anything. I became anemic, and after my symptoms got even worse, I finally went to the ER, where I received a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with pancolitis. I felt like I had lost everything.” But once the doctor prescribed a biosimilar, Jeni says, “It was like flipping a light switch. Biosimilars truly gave me my life back!”
