Why Lupus Awareness Is Important
Anna believes that lupus awareness is very important because not only can it bring awareness to lupus in general, but it can help people who may be suffering from symptoms that they can't explain — they may be able to get themselves a lupus diagnosis — and it can also help with scientific breakthroughs.
In 2014, there was that ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised tons of awareness for ALS — but it also raised tons of money. And with this, they were able to make a new scientific breakthrough to discover a new gene that is related to ALS.
So the more people that are aware of lupus, the more people are going to be inclined to donate to lupus, which in turn may lead to some scientific breakthroughs.
So some things that you can do to raise awareness right now is to post things on Facebook. I know that some people are kind of shy about sharing their health problems and things like that, but you don't necessarily need to disclose that you have lupus; you can just share an article maybe by another author who has lupus that talks about their experience.
Or share an article maybe on NewLifeOutlook to get people talking about lupus, and get it out there and get it visible. You can also do things like participating in a lupus walks, which are organized nationwide.
You either do this by yourself or form a team, and you have people sponsor you, and the money goes directly to lupus research, and you do a walk. And it's a fun day that raises awareness for lupus.
By raising the money, not only are you raising money to help the scientific advancement of lupus research, but you're also raising awareness of the disease in general.
You can also do things like wear a purple bracelet, which signifies lupus so that if anyone asks you about it, you can always talk to them about lupus and lupus awareness. Or you can buy t-shirts, things like that with ‘lupus’ on them, which helps start the conversation immediately.
Another thing that you can do is talk about celebrities who are bringing awareness to lupus, such as Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga, who are sharing their story and making it known that lupus is a serious disease and something that they contend with.
It shows that people can live a normal life, but it also shows what people will deal with lupus and brings that out into the forefront.