May is Lupus Awareness Month:
​Lead Your Community

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Lupus Awareness Month - May - is the time we all come together to educate and raise awareness about lupus - with your friends and family, at work, in your neighborhoods, and even friends in the City, State and Federal government. Take part in these important times to share the facts, and make a difference for all those impacted by Lupus.

How can you get involved?

• Sign up for the Outrun Lupus 5K at outrunlupus.org (June 8th) and send an email to your friends and family, letting them know about lupus and that they should join your team. 
• Organize a Lupus Awareness Day at your office
• Ask your City, County, or State to Proclaim May Lupus Awareness Month

Your Tools

• Social Media
• Profile Picture
• Facebook Cover Photo
• Facebook and other Social Media messages

Lupus Facts - For the past two years, LFNC has been sharing lupus facts and self-care tips. Please feel free to share these on your social media. You can find them in our Facebook album here.

Lupus Fact Sheet - Download here (PDF).

Proclamations

Would you like to have your City or County declare May Lupus Awareness Month? Great! We can help you do that.

• Step 1: Contact Spandan at spandan@lfnc.org to let him know you are working on this.
• Step 2: Contact your local City Council member or County supervisor. (We have a sample email for you to use).
• Step 3: Once they say yes, work to a) schedule a date to receive it at a City Council meeting and b) over them sample Proclamation text. (Sample Here).
• Step 4: Advertise the date of the Proclamation - let Spandan know so we can share in our LFNC e-newsletter, let your friends & family know, if you have a local support group ask them all to attend.
• Step 5: Try to get a local newspaper or blog to cover the Proclamation. Samples here:

Sample Email | Sample Proclamation text 

Sample Blurbs

Lupus Awareness Month
May is Lupus Awareness Month and we need your help to fight this  you can take action in the this cruel and challenging disease. Lupus is an autoimmune illness that has no known cause and no known cure. It is pervasive and affects an estimated 1.5 million people in the United States. Despite this, nearly two thirds of the public know little or nothing about it. The Lupus Foundation of Northern California serves all those impacted by lupus. Learn about our programs and services, and how you can help by visiting lfnc.org. 

Sample Blog
10 Things You Didn’t Know about Lupus
Source: The Lupus Foundation of America & The Lupus Research Alliance
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Lupus is a complicated and cruel disease that is difficult to diagnose and challenging to treat. About two thirds of the public have little or no knowledge of its effects, even with its widespread prevalence. This Lupus Awareness Month, help spread knowledge and bring hope to all those impacted by lupus.

1. Lupus is an unpredictable autoimmune disease that can affect the heart, lungs, skin or kidneys.
2. Lupus is not contagious. It cannot be “caught” or “passed on” to anyone, no matter what symptoms are showing.
3. A lupus patient’s average medical and loss of productivity costs are roughly $20,000 per year, and can increase to $63,000 per year if he or she has kidney complications.  
4. In certain cases, people with lupus are treated with cyclophosphamide, a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat cancer that suppresses the immune system.   
5. While lupus affects people of all races and ethnicities, African Americans — as well as Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans — are diagnosed with lupus 2-3 times more often than Caucasians.
6. Sensitivity to UV light (present in both sunlight and artificial light) affects as many as two thirds of individuals with lupus. This is known to cause fever, debilitating fatigue, joint pain, and rashes.  
7. An estimated 16,000 new case of lupus are diagnosed each year. 
8. ⅔ of lupus patients reported a complete or partial loss of their income because they no longer are able to work full time due to complications of lupus. 
9. Neurological manifestations of lupus are common and vary from mild to severe. 
10. It is estimated that more than 5 million people throughout the world have a form of lupus.

Since 1978, Lupus Foundation of Northern California (LFNC) has worked to improve the lives of all those impacted by lupus. This is done through Patient Support, Education, Advocacy & Awareness, and supporting external Research. You can find out more and get involved at lfnc.org.