Thank You, and Goodbye Dr. Sheftell

It’s with sadness I write this post about the passing of migraine specialist and activist Dr. Fred Sheftell.  Dr. Sheftell left this life on the 11th of April 2011 after a four year battle with cancer.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941, Dr. Sheftell had quite a varied career.  He was in the US army, developing a drug abuse program for soldiers returning from Vietnam (he was decorated by the army for his contribution, and was a pioneer in this field in the Unites States).  Along with Dr. Alan Rapoport, he started the New England Center for Headache, and was founder and director of the American Committee of Headache Education.  He was a past president of the American Headache Society, and was on the board of directors for many years.  He was a member of the advisory board for the Migraine Research Foundation during the last years of his life.  He founded the Word Headache Alliance.  He was even cited in Woodward and White’s, "Best Doctors in America", a textbook identifying outstanding physicians in the United States.

Even that incredibly impressive list of achievements doesn’t begin to explain Dr. Sheftell’s tireless efforts to fight migraine.  He co-authored many books, including Headache Relief for Women: How You Can Manage and Prevent Pain and Conquering Headache: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding the Treatment and Control of Headache.  He wrote more than 200 peer reviewed articles.  He frequently made himself available to appear on news programs to raise awareness about headache, migraine, and treatments.

It’s hard to imagine where migraine awareness and treatment and research would be without Dr. Sheftell.

Dr. Fred Sheftell was survived by his wife, Karen; son Jason; daughter Lauren; mother Wilma; brother Steven and his family; and brothers-in-law Edward Rosenthal and wife Linda, and David Rosenthal and wife Jane.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Sheftell’s memory can be made to the American Migraine Foundation, c/o American Migraine Foundation, 19 Mantua Road, Mount Royal, NJ 08061.

Dr. Sheftell was also a musician.  Yes, he even used this talent to fight migraine, as evidenced in one of his most popular songs… Migraine Blues:

For the full CD or MP3 downloads, see Migraine Blues here.