June 29, 2015

Keep Beating the Drum to a Lupus Cure - Fund Campaign

You can help keep beating the drum in our drumbeat to a lupus cure. Click here to give today!

The 5K is over this year, but we have updates and photos and T-shirts! See the photos (find yourself?), and buy a T-shirt for just $10 - shipping included - right here.

New to Lupus? Get Educated!

LFNC's Patient Education Classes offer an excellent avenue to learn how to deal with and manage your disease, and we conform to the highest standards set by the American College of Rheumatolog.

If you are new to lupus - whether you are a patient, a caregiver or a loved one, please check out our classes. The classes for the rest of the year - beginning July 11 - have been announced. Register for your preferred date now.

Information contained in this e-Newsletter should not be considered a substitute for professional diagnosis, treatment or management of S.L.E. and symptoms by a physician.

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Editor: Spandan Chakrabarti

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LFNC to Launch Lupus Buddy Program: A First of Its Kind Initiative in Lupus

As a natural extension - and perhaps in the future, evolution - of LFNC's patient-centered programs, the LFNC is proud to announce the Lupus Buddy Program. In this program, patients who express interest will be paired up with others based on lupus disease type and experience. The Buddy Program is a first-of-its-kind initiative that we hope to spread throughout the national lupus community, but we start with you. Our goal is to find each participant a "buddy" - another participant. Matched on the basis of the stages of lupus experience (a patient with a great deal of knowledge and experience may be matched with someone relatively new, for example), so that experience can meet new energy, and the new can feel safe.

The program will be conducted under the strictest of LFNC's patient confidentiality policy, as we take your privacy seriously. Our highly trained program coordinators will make the matches and the introductions under the same strict confidentiality guidelines. For further detail on the program, please see this summary, the full program brochure, or give us a call at 408-954-8600.

We hope that you will join us in this effort and sign up to be a buddy. After all, what more meaningful way to add to your support network than to have a buddy who is going through (or has gone through) the same thing you are? Please fill out this initial interest form and we will contact you with more details.

New Study Confirms Pregnancy is Safe when Lupus is Under Controlled

Given the fact that lupus predominantly affects women (90% of diagnosed patients are women) and that diagnosis is most common during fertile years, the safety and efficacy of pregnancy in lupus is among the top concerns of both patients and the medical community.

In general, pregnancy is considered safe for patients whose lupus is under control and who regularly see their lupus specialists to minimize the risk of complications.

A new study published by researchers from NYU confirms this widely given advice, and its lead author noted that advances in diagnosing and treatment of lupus has lead to pregnancy becoming much safer and normal among lupus patients than it would have been considered mere decades ago. The study also notes that there is higher instances of adverse outcome among African and Hispanic American women, perhaps underscoring the treatment gap for those patients.

You can read more about the study here. If you plan on becoming pregnant, the LFNC strongly encourages you to consult with your medical team and especially your rheumatologist as you prepare to welcome the newest addition to your family.