Remember lupus awareness as well as breast cancer In October

October is a significant month in raising awareness for a particular disease - which disease comes to mind?

Surely, it must be breast cancer. While October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), it also shares October with World Lupus Month (WLM). There has been controversy in the past making organizations ponder the decision to move WLM to May when National Lupus Awareness Month occurs.

I was surprised to find that on social media outlets like Twitter, there was such a negative response towards lupus and some even believed it to be a fake illness corresponding with mental insanity. This is absolutely not the case.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that comes in four different forms: Cutaneous Lupus, a mild form that affects the skin and often leads to rashes, break-outs and lesions throughout the body; Systemic Lupus Erthematosus (SLE), a more chronic form that single-handedly affects every organ in the body; drug-induced lupus, which occurs most commonly in men who have been treated with hydralazine (for high blood pressure or hypertension), procainamide (for irregular heart rhythms) and isoniazid (for tuberculosis) and Neonatal Lupus, which occurs within infants of women with lupus.

The LFA recorded an estimated 1.5 million cases of lupus, while 1.3 million cases of breast cancer were recorded in 2007. If the numbers are so similar, why is it that so many people are unaware of lupus? WLM has moved their awareness day to May. However awareness month is still considered in October.

My mother lost her battle to Lupus 8 ½ years ago after a 25 year battle. Mother’s secondary cause of death was non-Hoskins Lymphoma of the breast. Living with lupus was a challenge for my mother as it was not easy to describe a disease with symptoms that are so varied and yet often not visible. Symptoms can range from manageable to life-threatening, and whose course is sporadic, alternating between periods of wellness and flare. Explaining lupus is made even more difficult because the causes of lupus are unknown. Our family lives changed when Mother received her diagnosis of lupus. Mom was able to manage her disease for 15 years. During the last 10 years of fighting the disease it took over her body in all areas. It was never easy to understand the disease and was not easy to watch her go through it. However, by being informed and asking doctors and her health care provider’s questions, as a family we were able to help Mom mange. I also have lost my mother in law to breast cancer 18 years ago after a 10 year battle and most recently my father to Esophageal cancer in the past year and a half. The importance of both cancer and Lupus awareness month is a very important issue that we all can be more informed with.

This is not to say that one disease is more important than the other but that it is important to understand the significance and national impact of what an incurable disease such as lupus has on family members, friends and colleagues.

While October will continue to be the home to both Breast Cancer Awareness Month and World Lupus Month, I ask that you wear both ribbons to align and raise awareness for both diseases.