"People didn't really say anything, but they looked, and I knew they were looking," she recalls. "It was just embarrassing for me."
When Sherry's symptoms first appeared, she didn't know what was wrong with her. Although her father had a mild case of psoriasis himself, no one saw a connection between the few patches that he had on his knees and elbows and the extensive disease that Sherry had. She bounced from doctor to doctor, searching for a diagnosis. Eventually, she was referred to the dermatology unit at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, near her home, where doctors correctly diagnosed her and started treatment.
In the 20 or so years since then, she says, "I think I have tried every cream, pill, and injection made." Several treatments were successful at first, but then, for one reason or another, they did not work out in the long term. "It's been a roller coaster ride for me," she says.
First, Sherry tried UV light therapy, which was effective but very inconvenient. Three times a week, she had to leave work and drive 15 miles through bad traffic to the hospital for her three-minute treatments. She kept at it, though, until the treatments stopped working.
She had her tonsils removed at the age of 23 because her doctor thought her repeated throat infections might be making her psoriasis worse. The operation helped a little bit, but her psoriasis was still far from under control.
Next, she tried the systemic medication, methotrexate, which helped her a lot. However, because methotrexate can damage the liver, patients taking it for long periods of time have to undergo periodic liver biopsies. When given the choice of a liver biopsy or stopping the methotrexate, Sherry opted to give up the medication.
Sherry got married six years ago, and she desperately wanted her skin to be clear for her wedding day. With the help of one of the new injectable biologic medications, she got her wish. "It was wonderful," she says, but eventually, this therapy also failed her.
"It was so discouraging. 
I'd try something, and it would work for a while, and then all of a sudden I'd get these big splotches of psoriasis back," she says.
Fortunately, Sherry says, her doctor took an aggressive approach to treating psoriasis and was very up-to-date on treatment options. He switched her to another of the biologics, which worked extremely well. Four years later, it is still working; her skin is 100% clear. "What a miracle," she says. The treatment is so new that Sherry's four year track record with it makes her something of a pioneer. She is participating in a clinical trial that is studying its long-term effectiveness in psoriasis patients.
Sherry knows all too well that even this medication might not be a permanent solution. In the meantime, she is enjoying her psoriasis-free life to the fullest. She wears shorts all summer long without embarrassment. She continues to work as an administrative assistant for a retail grocery store in St. Louis, a position she has held for 20 years. Some of her co-workers have known her for a long time and have supported her through many ups and downs in her battle with psoriasis. She spends her free time traveling with her husband on their Harley-Davidson motorcycle and caring for her beloved beagle, Maggie. As for psoriasis, she says, "I'm just glad that, at least today, I'm winning this battle. I've had psoriasis for 21 years. I've definitely seen the best and worst of it, so I'll take all the good days I can get."
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