PRESS RELEASE – SLALA joined the rest of the world on Thursday May 10th in celebrating World Lupus Day and its theme “Lupus Knows No Boundaries.”
To commemorate the day, SLALA hosted its monthly meeting for members and Lupus patients at Serenity Park, to provide a more relaxed and open atmosphere for everyone.
The St. Lucia Arthritis and Lupus Association is intent on spreading the awareness of Lupus and continues its work in providing support and encouragement to its members as it participated in the 15th Annual observance of World Lupus Day.
Through co-ordinated efforts, SLALA has been working to create greater awareness and understanding of lupus, provide education and services to people living with the disease, and advocate on their behalf here in St. Lucia.
World Lupus Day serves to call attention to the impact that Lupus has on people around the world for a common purpose of bringing greater attention and resources in efforts to alleviate the suffering caused by this potentially disabling and at times fatal autoimmune disease. At the sharing on Thursday, the founding president of SLALA, Dr Amanda King reminded the members of how far we have come in diagnosing and managing Lupus. The mortality of Lupus has improved from 50% almost 50 years ago, to about 90% in present day. This is because of greater awareness which has led to earlier diagnosis and earlier treatment which results in more positive outcomes. Associations like SLALA have a very important role to play in providing education and support to patients and members so they can cope better.
There is no boundary to the impact of Lupus here in St. Lucia and affects people of all nationalities, races, ethnicities, genders and ages. That being said, it does affect more women of afro descent and in the child bearing age. Lupus can affect any part of the body in any way at any time, often with unpredictable and life-changing results. While Lupus knows no boundaries, knowing all you can about lupus can help control its impact.
The public can help us by joining the nationwide effort of SLALA by wearing something purple for the awareness of Lupus throughout the month, especially on May 18th when we POP for Lupus and to attend the upcoming annual seminar “Lupus Knows No Boundaries 3”on Saturday May 19th at Spartan University-Vieux Fort.
SLALA would like to take the opportunity to thank Ah Frikan Organics and Notox Girls for coming on board and supporting our World Lupus Day meeting. Your contributions were well received and appreciated by our members.
Feel free to contact SLALA via its email address: [email protected] or contact the office at 459-0092/486-7000, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 9:00a.m.-3:00p.m. for more information or visit our Facebook page for information about SLALA.
Put on Purple…Tell the story…Change Lives!