President of the Lupus Foundation of Dominica, Glorine Thomas has announced that research conducted by the foundation has recorded over 600 Lupus patients in Dominica.
Dominica joined the rest of the world to observe the 20th Annual World Lupus Day during a ceremony on Wednesday.
The Lupus Foundation of Dominica has declared the month of May as Lupus month. Therefore, the foundation will be focusing on the need to increase Lupus awareness, improve patient healthcare service, increase research into the rise of persons being diagnosed in Dominica and access to new treatment for Lupus, and enhance physician diagnosis of Lupus.
“In our research we have done, we have over 600 to 700 persons in Dominica with Lupus and you will only find a handful of persons in Dominica who will come out and identify themselves as having Lupus,” she revealed.
Thomas continued, “It’s because of the stigma that was behind Lupus and is still today, but we are trying to break out of that.”
She explained that Lupus not only takes a toll on the physical and mental state of sufferers but on the financial state of the sufferers and their families as well.
Thomas stated also that Lupus treatment and medicine are very expensive and due to the wide range of attacks of lupus at any given time persons may have to miss long periods of work or fly out of state to receive treatment.
While addressing the 20th Annual World Lupus Day ceremony on Wednesday she encouraged those suffering from Lupus to come to the foundation to receive help and support.
“Through our research, we have noticed that more and more persons have been diagnosed with Lupus in Dominica…,” she said. “We want to bring light to that and we want to make you all see that there is hope, so anyone who is out there who is listening to us, if you are diagnosed with Lupus come to the foundation.”
Thomas continued, “We will help you, we will support you.”
World Lupus Day is commemorated annually on May 10. It was designed to help acknowledge that the seemingly random symptoms are a debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease. Lupus remains a complex condition that is still widely misunderstood by the public and even medical professionals. A Lupus diagnosis can be quite difficult as the symptoms often mimic other diseases. The predominant symptom is a facial rash that typically looks like the unfolding wings of a butterfly spread across the cheeks.
Meanwhile, Minister for Housing and Urban Development and Parliamentary Representative for the Roseau Central Constituency, Melissa Poponne-Skerrit received a special token at the ceremony on behalf of her foundation, the Melissa Skerrit Foundation.
“I am truly grateful and honored to accept this token of appreciation on behalf of the Melissa Skerrit Foundation today on World Lupus Day,” she said in a Facebook post.
She pledged to continue to offer support through her ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Health which is committed to creating initiatives that promote accessibility, affordability, and financial inclusion for people with Lupus.
“We will continue to advocate for policies that support and uplift people living with Lupus and a more just and equitable society for all,” Poponne-Skerrit stated.
She also thanked the President of the Lupus Foundation Glorine Thomas for her tireless and admirable efforts to raise awareness and support for the Lupus society in Dominica.
World Lupus Day 2023 was celebrated under the theme: “Make Lupus Visible.”
As you say, in my area Lupus is very uncommon. I’m also happy that it’s being popularized about it.
Lupus is a devastating disease that has mostly gone under the radar. It should definitely be given much greater attention.
Good to see that the Lupus Foundation of Dominica trying to give much needed publicity and education to this disease. We cannot continue to be nonchalant about this.