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The question, Is Bernie Mac Dead? or Did Bernie Mac die? has been a popular question for over a week now. On August 2nd there were prank phone calls coming in to newspapers and television stations about Bernie Mac’s death. All of these claims and rumors were denied that Bernie Mac died. Even going so far to say thet the 50 year old comedian was responding well to treatments for pneumonia. Bernie Mac or Bernie Mack had a rare autoimmune disease, sarcoidosis, that he had battled for years which caused complications with the pneumonia, and in fact did cause the death of Bernie Mac on Saturday August 9th 2008 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

How did Bernie Mac die? Bernie Mac died of Pneumonia. The Bernie Mac death is still somewhat of a mystery, but many believe that Sarcoidosis played a part.

What is sarcoidosis disease? an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the body’s tissues and small lumps known as granulomas to form. The disease can attack any organ, more than 90% of patients have lung damage. Sarcoidosis occurs primarily in adults 20 to 40 years of age, and is three times more prevalent in African Americans than in whites, according to the American Lung Association. New research has found that the condition peaks in patients over 50, especially in women. Sarcoidosis symptoms vary, but the following symptoms may occur, A persistent dry cough, Chest pain, Hemoptysis (spitting up of blood from the lungs), Hoarseness, Nasal congestion, Pneumothorax (air in the chest outside the lungs, which can lead to a collapsed lung), Shortness of breath, or difficult breathing (dyspnea), a normal result of exercise but in sarcoidosis patients can occur without exercise, Wheezing (noisy, difficult breathing). What causes sarcoidosis is unknown. The disease can appear suddenly and go into remission. It can also develop gradually and go on to produce symptoms that come and go, sometimes for a lifetime. It was once considered a rare disease, but we now know it is a chronic illness that appears all over the world. In fact, it is the most common of the scarring lung disorders.

It has occurred often enough in the United States for Congress to declare a national Sarcoidosis Awareness Day in 1990.

Anyone can get sarcoidosis. It occurs in all races and in both sexes. However, for reasons they don’t understand yet, the risk is greater if you are a young black adult, especially black women, as well as Scandinavian, German, Irish or Puerto Rican origin. Check out MedicineNet.com for information and statistics.

Bernie Mac’s long list of shows include “The Bernie Mac Show, “”Ocean’s 11,” “Transformers” and “Charlie’s Angel: Full Throttle.” It is believed that sarcoidosis damaged Bernie Mac’s immune system and didn’t allow his body to fight the pneumonia. I still can’t believe that Bernie Mac dies at the age of 50. He was such a funny, witty, talented comedian, and our prayers go out to his family.