PRINTER'S NO. 670
No. 69 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY ORIE, MELLOW, LOGAN, BOSCOLA, STOUT, FOLMER,
BRUBAKER, ERICKSON, TARTAGLIONE, ROBBINS, WASHINGTON, O'PAKE,
FONTANA, WONDERLING AND WAUGH, MARCH 21, 2007
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MARCH 21, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the first day of April 2007 as "Lupus Alert Day" in
2 Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Lupus is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease
4 which causes the immune system to attack the body's own tissue
5 and organs, including the kidneys, heart, lungs, brain, blood or
6 skin; and
7 WHEREAS, Lupus affects one out of every 185 Americans and
8 primarily strikes women between the ages of 15 and 45, but men
9 as well as children are also affected; and
10 WHEREAS, Lupus is more prevalent in African Americans,
11 Latinos, Native Americans and Asians; and
12 WHEREAS, Lupus is America's least known major disease but
13 strikes more people than leukemia, multiple sclerosis, muscular
14 dystrophy and cystic fibrosis combined; and
15 WHEREAS, Thousands of Americans die each year from lupus-
16 related complications; and
17 WHEREAS, Lupus fools patients since symptoms are often
1 ignored because they mimic less serious illnesses; and
2 WHEREAS, Lupus fools family members because lupus victims are
3 branded as whiners or hypochondriacs because they do not appear
4 to be ill; and
5 WHEREAS, Lupus fools clinicians because there is no single
6 test that can tell whether a person has lupus and it is not
7 uncommon for someone with lupus to suffer for several years
8 before the disease is diagnosed; and
9 WHEREAS, Lupus fools scientists because they do not know
10 exactly what causes lupus and a cure remains elusive; and
11 WHEREAS, The majority of Pennsylvanians do not understand
12 lupus, how widespread it is or its ramifications for the health
13 care industry; and
14 WHEREAS, With early diagnosis and current methods of therapy,
15 80 to 90% of persons with lupus can look forward to a normal
16 life span if they follow the instructions of their physicians,
17 take medications as prescribed and know when to seek medical
18 assistance; and
19 WHEREAS, The Lupus Foundation of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit
20 volunteer health organization with a history of service since
21 1975, provides supportive services to the victims of lupus,
22 funds medical research into the disease's causes and possible
23 treatments and educates the public concerning the realities of
24 lupus; therefore be it
25 RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the first day of April
26 2007 as "Lupus Alert Day" in Pennsylvania.
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