My goal is to raise $1,000 which will help fund peer mentoring and counseling, emergency grants, and children's services. The first fund raising deadline so that I can run in the marathon with Team Life Without Lupus is next week, January 4. I'm hoping my friends and clients (and you too, reader) will each donate $11-$75. Think of it as one coffee per week between now and the marathon.
Lupus targets women and minorities. Lupus is estimated to affect 1 to almost 1.5 million Americans, 90 percent of whom are women. Latino, Asian, and Native American women have an increased incidence of lupus. In fact, lupus is twice as prevalent among Asian-American and Latino women as it is among Caucasian women.
Lupus is one of America's least recognized major diseases. Nearly 1.5 million Americans have lupus. In fact, more Americans have lupus than cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, sickle-cell anemia, and cystic fibrosis combined, making it one of this country's most prevalent medical problems. However, while lupus is widespread, awareness and accurate knowledge about it lag behind many other illnesses. Lupus is on the rise, and scientists don't know exactly why.Please use this link to make your donation and tell your friends. www.firstgiving.com/StefanieLMT
Systemic lupus erythematosus (S.L.E.), commonly called lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect virtually any organ of the body. In lupus, the body's immune system, which normally functions to protect against foreign invaders, becomes hyperactive, forming antibodies that attack normal tissues and organs, including the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, and blood. Lupus is characterized by periods of illness, called flares, and periods of wellness, or remission.
Because its symptoms come and go and mimic those of other diseases, lupus is difficult to diagnose. There is no single laboratory test that can definitively prove that a person has this complex illness.