Frequently Asked Questions

Kelly K McCann, MD
first question…
Who am I?
Dr. Kelly has helped thousands
of people on their journey to
wellness. From medical
mysteries, chronic illnesses,
hormone & thyroid concerns,
gastrointestinal issues,
immune dysfunction and
autoimmune diseases; there
are few internal medical issues
Dr. Kelly has not tackled.

She specializes in providing

personalized, compassionate
care, working on several levels
to improve patient’s quality of
life and simultaneously,
investigate the root causes of
the dysfunctions. Her calming,
gentle nature has brought
many people comfort on their
healing journeys.

Kelly K McCann, MD

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CONTENTS
04 What is a Mast Cell?

05 What is MCAS?

06 What are the triggers of MCAS?

09 What are the symptoms?

10 How do I know I have it? How can I get a

diagnosis?

12 Can I be cured?

14 So how can I feel better?

15 More resources

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What is a
Mast Cell?
You may have heard the
words ‘mast cell’ before, but
unless you’ve been in a
biology class recently, you
probably don’t know what it
really is.
Mast cells are a vital
part of the immune
system.
They are created in the bone
marrow and move into almost
all tissues. You can find mast
cells in your mouth, ears, eyes,
skin, gut, lungs, nerves,
ligaments, tendons, bones,
and, most importantly, the
brain.
If it feels to you like mast cells
are just everywhere in your
body, you would be right.
Mast cells line the areas of
interface between ourselves
and the outside world.
04
Mast cells have several jobs:
Integral to maintaining the
blood barrier (Due to their
proximity to the blood
vessels)
Assist with wound healing
and vasodilation
Most importantly, they are
the “first responder” for the
body.
Mast cells are different from
other kinds of immune cells.
Unlike white blood cells, when
mast cells are mature, they
tend to stay in the same place
in the body. White blood cells
tend to move to specific areas
such as the lymph nodes. Mast
cells, however, are all over the
body, especially in those areas
of interface. Because of this,
whenever pathogens or foreign
invaders or toxins enter the
body, mast cells alert the rest of
the immune system and call in
the troops to defend you.
But this function is also why
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
occurs.
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What is MCAS?
You’ve heard the phrase ‘too much of
a good thing’ before right? Well that’s basically
what Mast Cell Activation Syndrome is.
Your mast cells have the
important job of spotting
foreign invaders and alerting
the rest of the immune
system to pathogens. But
sometimes, mast cells
become hypervigilant, seeing
threats when there may be
none. An excellent example of
this is when you eat some of
your favorite foods and have
an allergic reaction that you’ve
never had before.
But why does this
happen?
Mast cells contain special
packets or chemical
messengers called granules.
These granules contain
hundreds if not thousands of
chemical messengers known
as mediators.
05
This process of releasing
mediators is called
degranulation. One of the
most well-known mediators is
histamine. Common
histamine reactions include
swelling, redness, hives, and
itching. All the things you
might experience if you have
an allergic reaction or when
you get a bug bite.
Mast cells should be doing
their jobs, they should be
alerting to pathogens and
invaders, but when MCAS
starts, they aren’t just
responding to threats
anymore. Benign things will
trigger one cell, which will
start to trigger other mast
cells into responding. Almost
like a forest fire, an
inflammatory cascade will
start, and you are left caught
in the burn.
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What are triggers of

MCAS?

1.
There are many different triggers for MCAS,
and they all come from unique situations from
lifestyle choices or genetic backgrounds.

Your Diet
What you eat is so important when it
comes to MCAS, because many mast
cells reside in the gastrointestinal tract.
And with MCAS, the food you eat can
easily trigger your mast cells, even if you
are not allergic to those foods.

High histamine foods are the typical

triggers for MCAS, which makes
navigating a healthy diet very tricky. I’m
sure you have heard about the benefits
of fermented foods, haven’t you? The
importance of the healthy bacteria from
yogurt and the miraculous healing of
kombucha. Turns out that fermented
foods are super high in histamines, and
those foods that you were told were
‘good for you’ turned out to be one of
the things triggering your mast cells
into going haywire.

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2.
Your Environment 07

Chemicals like PCBs, pesticides,

phthalates, solvents, flame retardants,
air pollution, as well as common
chemicals found in cleaning agents and
personal hygiene products can all
trigger MCAS. Some of these chemicals,
such as PCBs are no longer available for
use in the US, however, they are often
found in our food supply and in the
environment.

Other things, like pesticides and

cleaning products, you may use to get
rid of weeds, or clean your home, or
reduce the threat of illness, but
inadvertently you are creating more
problems for you and your family.

Mold is a very tricky kind of fungi that

can pervasively grow in your home
without you realizing it. It can be hard
to spot water damage, but anywhere
there is moisture and food sources for
mold growth such as wood and
sheetrock, there is the possibility of
mold and fungi.

Mold and the toxins these mold

produce can lead to many health
effects and trigger MCAS. It’s important
to check your house frequently for any
signs of mold and moisture, and to use
air purifiers to promote healthy
circulation of the air in your home.

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Some other triggers for

MCAS are:

Hormone imbalances such

as menopause

Lack of sleep

Drinking alcohol

Surgery

Injuries

Traumas

Infections such as Lyme disease

or even COVID

Heavy Metal Toxicity

Stress

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What are the

symptoms?
First, I want you to rework your idea of what a symptom is.
Instead of thinking of symptoms as a nuisance, I want you to
be grateful for them as the signals your body is sending you
to give you a message for help. I want you to listen to the
messages given, look for the deeper meanings behind the
symptoms.

General ill feeling Rashes

General Fatigue Burning pain on mouth
Frequent Sensitivities to Cough
foods Bone and Joint pain
Sensitivities to Headaches
fragrances, light, sound Mood Disturbances and
Sensitivity to Anxiety
electromagnetic Low Blood Pressure
frequencies (EMF) such Rapid Heart Rate
as wifi or your cell phone Nausea and Diarrhea
Poor wound healing
Allergy style reaction
Hives
Itching
Sweating
Dry or Irritated Eyes

You might have all of these symptoms, or you might have

none of them. You could have a set of symptoms all unique to
you and how your body reacts when it thinks it's under
attack, so it’s important to do your own research now that
you have a base understanding of what a person with MCAS
might suffer from.

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How do I know I have it?
How can I get a
diagnosis?
MCAS is notoriously hard to diagnose.
Not only is it a fairly new diagnosis, only
becoming an official diagnosable
disease in 2016, it’s also a disease that
can easily camouflage itself.

Six Blindfolded
Scientists + the
Elephant
Six scientists are blindfolded and led
into a room with an elephant. Each of
them is only given one part of the
elephant to study, and they each come
to different conclusions on what the
object in front of them might be.
The scientist given the tusk thinks the
object is a spear.
The scientist given the trunk thinks it
might be a snake… and so forth.

Each of them comes to different

conclusions, because they’re all looking
at different information about the
same thing.

The same thing happens when it comes

to diagnosing MCAS.

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Western medicine typically
takes the approach of
specialists for diagnosis.
Specialists only focus on
specific details, and they
might miss the bigger
picture of a body in
distress. Like the scientists
with the elephant, a
specialist might diagnose a
person with Fibromyalgia,
or POTS, or worse yet, they
might just say you’re
getting old, and this is
‘what happens’. It might
get incredibly frustrating to
be told things like this, to
be constantly given a new
disease to try and wrangle,
all the while still feeling as
bad as you did at the start.
The Official
Guidelines for
MCAS Diagnosis:
1. Chronic symptoms
affecting multiple systems.
This is the most important
guideline, and without this,
it would be
counterproductive for you
to continue to find a MCAS
diagnosis.
2. Ruled out mastocytosis
and other major medical
conditions. If it turns out
you don't have any other
major conditions, then
hopefully you will be able to
get a diagnosis of MCAS.

Regardless of if you ever receive a formal diagnosis, I don’t

think you should ever throw away the potential that you
might have MCAS. If the treatments you are getting for
other conditions aren’t helping, you might need to go back
and ask for more help.

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Can I actually be cured?
Just like the word ‘symptom’,
I want you to change the way
you think of the word ‘cured’.
What is a cure? Is it
completely eradicating a
problem? Is it managing
symptoms but never
achieving full satisfaction
with life?
I want you to think of a cure
in the purest form of the
word:
To feel better.
Standard research says that
there is no cure for Mast Cell
Activation Syndrome. Mast
cells are all over the body,
and you’ve learned about the
large number of triggers that
can start over-activating
them. There may be no way
to completely reverse the
effects of the triggers that
create MCAS, but you can
make changes to cure
yourself.
12
You can remove the triggers
from your environment, you
can recover, and you can
open yourself up to a higher
quality of life that you might
have not believed possible.
It’s not just about
suppressing symptoms or
waiting for a magic fix that
might never happen, it’s
about taking action for
yourself and putting your
health and wellness in its
rightful place at the top of
your priorities.
MCAS is an illness with
extreme heterogeneity. It is
as unique to you as your
fingerprints are. There might
never be a fix that will work
for every single person, but I
promise you, there is a cure
for every person with MCAS.
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Identify + Avoid Your Triggers
This is why I say be grateful
for your symptoms. Every
time you have an adverse
reaction to any kind of
product (food, personal
hygiene, medication, etc.)
you have an opportunity to
potentially identify yet
another one of the triggers
that are further activating
your dysfunctional mast cells.
Once you’ve identified
triggers, you can learn to
avoid them, or even start to
regain some form of
tolerance over them.
When it comes to foods, I
always suggest a low-
histamine diet. (I even have
some great recipes,
and a foods list one page for
you to print out and put on
your fridge!) Low Histamine
diets are great for people
who might have MCAS,
because you are lowering the
amount of histamine already
in your system. Switching to
products without fragrance
will also lower the chances of
triggering your overactivated
cells.
Once you feel back in control
of your body, you can
potentially try some
desensitization therapies, but
that’s farther down the line.
The thing to focus on now is
the present issue, not the
future.

Inhibit Mediator Production

Steroids are an option, but NSAIDS can potentially work (It is
important to go low and slow with these medications
though, as they can also be possible triggers). It’s also
important to start looking at potential supplements to
incorporate into your routine. That’s why I’ve also made a
supplement review in addition to this eGuide.

Find the resources mentioned and more on the next few

pages.

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So, how can I feel better?

You are the authority on your body. You have agency, freedom,
and, above all, information.

It might feel like you’re standing in front of the mountain now, but
you aren’t by yourself.

Use what you know now as your foundation to start taking small
steps everyday, and before you know it you’ll be standing at the
top staring down.

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Thanks for reading!

There is still a lot we don’t know about MCAS, but with
support and with a community of others around you who
are also working their hardest to get better, I have no
doubt you will be successful. I hope that this eGuide is a
good starting point, and it has given you a solid
foundation going into the summit that is to come.

What are you waiting for?

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