I’ve been planning to do something, anything, to bring awareness to lupus during May which is Lupus Awareness Month. I haven’t gotten far in my planning because the information is overwhelming and I don’t know where to begin. How can I share facts and statistics about something I know so little about? I don’t want to spread false information but I also want to help others who may be just as confused as I am.
I’ve started by painting my nails purple. Purple is the designated color for Lupus awareness. It is a combination of the color red, which represents passion and motivation, and the color blue, which represents calmness.
What Is Lupus?
Lupus is a life-long chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), is the most common type of lupus. The other types of lupus include Cutaneous lupus (skin lupus), drug-induced lupus which is similar to SLE but occurs as the result of an overreaction to certain medications, and Neonatal. Lupus is not cancer and it’s not something you can catch.
Lupus is a range of mild to severe and debilitating symptoms. For many, lupus is an invisible illness, meaning that most symptoms aren’t readily visible to onlookers. People living with lupus may look healthy and well on the outside but may be suffering a great deal of pain internally.
Why I Choose Lupus?
Per the CDC, ninety percent of people with lupus are women. That’s me! It is still unknown why Black and Latina women are 2 to 3 times more likely than White women to develop lupus. That’s me again! A CDC study, published in 2019, examined the death rates among people with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. “Black people had higher rates of death than White people, and deaths occurred sooner after diagnosis. Among those with SLE, Black people were significantly younger when they died than White people (average age of 52 vs. 64).” As a Black woman, I must educate myself, my family, and community about a chronic illness that drastically affects us.
Throughout the month I will be sharing information about what lupus is, what it isn’t and how to live with it. There is so much to learn but together we can do our part to bring light to this “mysterious disease”.
L. Bradley 