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July 7, 2015
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What is palliative care?
Scroll down for the answer.
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Summer Sun Safety
From
backyard barbecues and pool parties to simply spending time outside,
summer can be a difficult season for people with lupus. While others are
basking in the sun, those with hypersensitivity to ultraviolet rays
have to find ways to avoid exposure. Here are some tips to help you
navigate through the hottest months of the year if you want or need to
be outside during the day.
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Ask the Experts: Lupus Diagnosis
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There
are many challenges to diagnosing lupus. Known as "the great imitator,"
its symptoms mimic many other illnesses and can also be unclear, can
come and go and can change. This month, Dr. Donald Thomas, author of The Lupus Encyclopedia, provides information about the diagnosis of lupus.
After reviewing the presentation, submit a question
by no later than July 15. Fifteen questions will be selected and
answered on this topic. Be sure to check back in August to see all the
questions and answers!
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Alex Nolan: Lights, Camera, Lupus!
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Growing
up, Alex knew that she wanted to make movies, become successful and
then make more movies. Lupus was the disease that made her mother sick,
but it wasn't something she ever thought she'd experience firsthand.
That changed when she was diagnosed at 16-years-old, but her desire to
create films hasn't dampened. In fact, having lupus has inspired her to
find creative ways to share her story and to use her skills as an intern
for the Lupus Foundation of America. See the first video Alex created
for the Foundation here.
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Featured Events
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Research
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Education
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Upcoming Walk to End Lupus Now? Events:
August 15, 2015
Newport News, VA
August 29, 2015
Milwaukee, WI
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Environmental Impact on Autoimmunity
Dr.
Diane Kamen, a Lupus Foundation of America Lifeline Grant Award
recipient, is investigating whether microbes, tiny organisms found in
nature, might contribute to the development of lupus in African
Americans with a genetic predisposition for the disease. Though the
cause of lupus is unknown, environmental exposures in individuals with a
genetic predisposition for autoimmunity could play a role. In this
video she explains how the identification of microbes in the gut will
create opportunities to lessen the incidence and severity of lupus.
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Evaluating Current Treatment Options for Antiphospholipid Syndrome
Anca
Askanase, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine and director of
the Lupus Center at Columbia University Medical Center, and a member of
the Lupus Foundation of America Medical-Scientific Advisory Council,
believes much has changed in the treatment of autoimmune diseases since
she began working in the field more than 15 years ago. She says current
treatments are more sophisticated about the management of lupus and
related autoimmune blood disorders. Read what Dr. Askanase and other
experts believe are the best available treatments for Antiphospholipid
Syndrome.
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
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Credit: Chok Hernández
Senate Committee Answers Lupus Foundation of America's Call for Increased Funding for Lupus Research
The
Senate Appropriations Committee recently passed a spending bill that
includes good news for people with lupus and provides funding for
valuable lupus research and education programs. The Committee has
reconfirmed its ongoing support of these vital lupus programs that our
activists from every state have championed for many years.
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Urge Congress to Take Action on 21st Century Cures
Last
month, lupus activists from across the country visited Capitol Hill to
ask Congress to support the 21st Century Cures bill that could improve
how drugs are developed and approved for people with lupus. Keep the
momentum going by contacting your Representative today and urge them to
support the bill when the House of Representatives considers passing it
next week!
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Donate today to double
your impact on the lives of people with lupus! Through the end of July,
your donation to the Lupus Foundation of America will be matched dollar-for-dollar thanks to the generous support of private foundations.
Your
support helps us fight every day for the millions of people affected by
this devastating disease, including funding the only research program
dedicated to improving the lives of children with pediatric lupus.
Donate today to double your impact on the lives of people with lupus!
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Palliative
(pronounced PAH-lee-uh-tiv) care is a health care approach that tends
to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of a person with
an illness and the needs of his or her family. It can be offered to
people at any age and at any point in an illness such as lupus. Though
it is part of hospice care (care for the terminally ill who forgo
further treatment), palliative care can be offered to anyone with a
serious illness including those, like many lupus patients, who will
likely live many years with their diseases. Learn more. |
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