PRINTER'S NO. 896
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
123
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY RAFFERTY, HAYWOOD, BREWSTER, TEPLITZ, SCAVELLO,
WOZNIAK, KITCHEN, GREENLEAF, WHITE, SMITH, DINNIMAN,
VULAKOVICH, COSTA, PILEGGI, WARD, SCHWANK, AUMENT, ALLOWAY,
FARNESE AND BOSCOLA, MAY 12, 2015
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MAY 12, 2015
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the month of May 2015 as "Lupus Awareness Month" and
May 10, 2015, as "World Lupus Day" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Every day an estimated 65,000 Pennsylvanians, 1.5
million Americans and five million people worldwide struggle
with the debilitating consequences of lupus, a potentially fatal
autoimmune disease that can damage any part of a lupus patient's
body; and
WHEREAS, In an autoimmune disease like lupus, the immune
system effectively loses its way, and, instead of warding off
foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria, the immune system
attacks healthy cells, causing inflammation and pain and leading
to permanent damage; and
WHEREAS, Lupus has no cure and no known cause, and, despite
the current treatment and available medications, many lupus
patients have symptoms that cannot be managed well enough for
patients to lead normal lives, complete their education and
maintain employment; and
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WHEREAS, Nine out of ten people with lupus are women, and 80%
of new cases are diagnosed among women between 15 and 44 years
of age, with the majority of new cases seen in women in their
late teens and early 20s; and
WHEREAS, Although the disease is most frequently seen in
those patients, individuals of any age or gender can develop
lupus; and
WHEREAS, Lupus was identified as a disease in 1872, but it is
an underrecognized public health problem that attracts rare
attention and funding for research for a cure; and
WHEREAS, Lupus is often referred to as "the disease that
fools," due to the patient's unawareness of its presence for
extended periods of time; and
WHEREAS, The Lupus Foundation of America, Philadelphia Tri-
State Chapter and the Lupus Foundation of Pennsylvania, two
nonprofit volunteer health organizations with a history of
service since the early 1970s, provide supportive services to
the victims of lupus, fund medical research into the disease's
causes and possible treatments and educate the public concerning
the realities of lupus; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the month of May 2015 as
"Lupus Awareness Month" and May 10, 2015, as "World Lupus Day"
in Pennsylvania so that more attention and awareness may be
given to the disease.
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