Lupus Awareness Month: #MakeLupusVisible
Lupus Foundation of America · Lupus.Net · Symptoms · New Medical Treatment · Donate
Sources: Lupus.net; TheMighty.com; RLS Media
Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease. In lupus, the immune system attacks healthy tissue, such as of the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, and other organs with symptoms than can vary widely. In the U.S., 1.5 million people are estimated to ahve a form of lupus. It develops most commonly between ages 15 and 44, and is almost three times more common in non-Caucasian women.
There wasn’t much you could do to treat lupus-related kidney damage aside from eventually go on dialysis. That has changed, however, thanks to the approval of voclosporin (Lupkynis), the first-ever oral drug to treat nephritis (lupus-related kidney inflammation).
For Make Lupus Visible awareness month, wear your favorite purple clothing and make a donation — which will be triple-matched by Master Spas up to $20,000!
While you may recognize Kazy Tauginas from his bad-boy role in the box office hit Equalizer 2, the actor is now showing off his activist side in Standing Eight, a short film that he wrote and stars in.
Tauginas drew from his own life as a son and caregiver to his mother, Victoria, who was diagnosed with lupus before he was born. Tauginas says, “You don’t understand what chemotherapy is at the age of eight, but I remembered the situation looked really bad. But my mother never complained or looked for excuses, she has always been a fighter.”
Standing Eight brings audiences into the life of Dusty Abrams, a professional boxer who is diagnosed with lupus shortly before a major fight. Forced to retire, he is now faced with not only the physical ramifications of lupus, but the challenges that chronic illness can bring to all aspects of one’s life.
The film, which has been screened at more than 30 festivals, been nominated 23 times, received four honorable mentions, and won 11 awards, is now available on Amazon.
#LupusAwarenessMonth #MakeLupusVisible