University of _______________________________________________________________________
Kacey C. Krznaric
Public Relations Specialist
Lupus Center of Excellence
Telephone: (412)586-3550
E-mail: kckrznaric@gmail.com
Rally For a Cure: Uniting Physicians, Scientists, Patients Toward a Common Goal
With 1.5 million Americans suffering from a disease that is recognized as the hardest to diagnose, the Lupus Center of Excellence staff and their physicians are teaming up with researchers and patients across the country to combat this debilitating disease that attacks vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain.
FOR RELEASE April 1, 2010
CHICAGO, Illinois, April 1, 2010- With over half of the current members of the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) reporting that they were misdiagnosed for several years before obtaining a correct diagnosis, the importance of awareness becomes increasingly fundamental. We live in a world where medical advancements are on the rise and physicians have more effective tools at their finger tips everyday. While this is essential in accurately diagnosing a disease that manifests itself in ways that mirror other autoimmune disorders, it is the research that has enabled us to finally offer our patients some relief. To continue battling lupus and siege ahead in our quest to find a cure, adequate funding is not only necessary but foundational to our cause.
In the past years, the Lupus Center of Excellence, based out of Chicago, has held seminars where patients and their families were invited to come together and learn about their disease. The seminars were facilitated by the physicians themselves and were carried out in a forum that allowed the patients to ask questions and provided the opportunity for them to interact with their peers. The patients were able to see computer generated images of their bodies and how the disease can affect the different organs. They were given tips on health and wellness, as well as stretching and strength training exercises to help alleviate joint pain, which is one of the primary symptoms of lupus. All of the information given to the patients was delivered in layman’s terms and vocabulary lists, worksheets, and other educational supplements were made available. These seminars not only acted as patient education sessions but as support groups as well. The positive feedback that had been received in the past was the reason the physicians continued to donate their time.
The Rally For a Cure seminar that is fast approaching will take on a slightly different form than those we have held in the past. We want our presence in the medical community to be even more prevalent. In order to dothat, we need to unite on every level. From research to patient care- from the lab to the exam room- we want to facilitate more than just an educational seminar. Our vision for 2010 is to facilitate hope. Lupus is a serious, life threatening disease and we can’t combat it alone. This spring we are opening our forum to all of those connected to lupus across the country. Whether the connection is behind the scenes or on the front line, we want to work toward a cure though collaboration with researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and other medical professionals throughout America by hosting the First Annual Rally For a Cure seminar.
With a growing number of patients at the Lupus Center of Excellence, our need for funding has also grown. Our patient volume is at an all time high. Our patient base has moved from the Chicago area outward mostly due to our satisfied patients sharing their experience with others via online support groups, word-of-mouth, and LFA legislative functions. We are currently seeing patients from 26 states ranging from California to all along the eastern coast. We have a long-term plan of taking our vision international and it starts this spring with the Rally for a Cure. We have been given more sophisticated tools in diagnosis but ultimately a cure for this debilitating disease rests in the research. We are calling on medical and pharmaceutical professionals everywhere to join hands with us as we Rally For a Cure.
About the Lupus Center of Excellence
The Lupus Center of Excellence has been a recognized specialty of the Division of Rheumatology within the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) Department of Medicine since April 2001. While the Center is based solely out of Chicago, Illinois, they have partnered with the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) to act as an outreach for patients either searching for a diagnosis or looking for specialty care for their disease. The Lupus Center of Excellence has treated patients from 26 states and is considered one the first multi-specialty practices offering rheumatologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, dermatologists, and pain medicine physicians all under one roof. The Center also employs several physicians recognized in Chicago Magazine’s Top Doctors issue for both 2008 and 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment