Support for Team Lupus LA

I encourage all to consider joining or supporting Team Lupus LA as it walks and runs in the 2016 LA BIG 5K on Saturday, February 13, 2016, and the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, February 14, 2016. There are 1.5 million Americans living with lupus, 60,000 of whom live in the Los Angeles Region. Team Lupus LA helps provide support to those in need, through Lupus LA’s Emergency Grant Program, support groups, conferences, and more. A portion of the money raised also supports lupus research.

According to the Mayo Clinic:

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when your body’s immune system attacks your own tissues and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems — including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.

—Mayo Clinic at www.mayoclinic.org

Says the Lupus Foundation of American, “Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood disease that ravages different parts of the body. It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with, and a challenge to treat.” (Lupus Foundation of American Website at www.lupus.org.) Early signs of the disease can include fatigue, unexplained fever, hair loss, skin rash or lesions, pulmonary issues, kidney inflammation, painful and/or swollen joints, gastrointestinal problems, thyroid problems, dry mouth, dry eyes, or other symptoms (including muscle pain, chest pain, osteoporosis, and depression). (See 10 Early Signs of Lupus, Healthline website at www.healthline.com.) But it is difficult to diagnose. “Because early symptoms are similar to those of so many other conditions, having them doesn’t necessarily mean you have lupus.” Id.

There are different kinds (e.g., systemic lupus erythemastosus, discoid lupus erythematosus, subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, drug-induced lupus, neonatal lupus) and the cause is not well understood. But there are many treatments that can be effective, and research is ongoing. (See National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases website at www.naims.nih.gov.)

The Crowdrise page for Team Lupus LA can be found HERE. If you would like to mail a donation to the Lupus LA office, you may send it to:

8383 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 232
Beverly Hills, CA 90211