THE MICHIGAN LUPUS FOUNDATION HONORS LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH IN MAY
(Michigan – May 1, 2025) – The Michigan Lupus Foundation is celebrating Lupus Awareness Month during the month of May in the United States, an entire month dedicated to raising awareness for this incurable, debilitating disease. It is estimated around 14,000 Michiganders suffer from lupus and up to 1 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with some form of the condition. Lupus Awareness Month shines a vital spotlight on a disease that is often invisible, misunderstood and underdiagnosed. The Michigan Lupus Foundation hosts events and special initiatives throughout the month of May to help raise awareness about the physical, emotional and financial impact of lupus.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own healthy tissues and organs. It can affect any part of the body causing widespread pain and inflammation. People with lupus often suffer from joint pain, extreme fatigue and organ damage. Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood disease that is hard to diagnose, difficult to live with and challenging to treat. Lupus affects each person differently and may go into periods of flares and remissions. There is no cure.
“I’ve been officially diagnosed with lupus for almost 20 years,” Michigan Lupus Foundation Executive Director Kimberly Dimond said. “Over the course of the past two decades, my lupus has ranged between a mild inconvenience to life-threatening and severe. Every day I experience extreme fatigue, exhaustion and chronic pain with varying degrees of headaches, insomnia, joint inflammation and bruising. I’ve had inflammation of the lungs, heart, kidneys, ligaments, spinal cord and abdominal organs, and the associated conditions of fibromyalgia, Raynaud’s phenomenon, Sjogren's syndrome and hypermobility, as many patients have in connection with lupus.”
This year, supporting Lupus Awareness Month is even more crucial as the Michigan Lupus Foundation continues to raise funds to ensure the future of the organization. Fundraising for lupus is necessary to drive research initiatives and provide support and services to those who need it. The Michigan Lupus Foundation exists to improve the quality of life for those living with lupus through support, education and research with the goal of finding a cure. They provide resources for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers including support groups, counseling, awareness events and financial aid programs due to the high medical cost of living with the disease. They also advocate with lawmakers to improve the patient experience with insurance, medications and disability rights.
Those interested can participate in Lupus Awareness Month by:
Sharing information about lupus on social media, in your community and with family and friends. We’ve provided a Lupus Awareness Month toolkit to make digital sharing easy.
Support special events in your area, like the Lansing Walk for Lupus at the state capitol building on Saturday, May 31.
Wear purple and tag us on social media, especially World Lupus Day on May 10th. Use hashtags #WorldLupusDay and #MILupus. Attend a World Lupus Day gathering in Livonia or Traverse City.
Sharing your journey with lupus helps others feel less alone and shines a light on the realities of this invisible illness. Share your story on social media, through our website, or contact local newspaper and media stations. Every story told brings us closer to understanding, support, and one day, a cure.
Contact info@milupus.org for interview opportunities throughout the month and additional ways to help get involved.
About Lupus
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own healthy tissues and organs. It can affect any part of the body causing widespread pain and inflammation. People with lupus often suffer from joint pain, extreme fatigue and organ damage. Diagnosing lupus can take 2-6 years on average, per patient since it can often mimic other diseases and there is not one conclusive test. Lupus primarily affects young women between the ages of 15-45 years old and occurs more frequently in women of African American, Hispanic or Asian descent. More people have lupus than cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, sickle-cell anemia and cystic fibrosis combined. Two-thirds of the U.S. population does not know what lupus is, making it one of the foundation’s top priorities to increase awareness about this debilitating disease. There is currently no cure for lupus.
About the MI Lupus Foundation
The Michigan Lupus Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that exists to improve the quality of life for those living with lupus through support, education and research with the goal of finding a cure. The foundation provides financial and informational resources for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers including support groups, counseling services, financial assistance, advocating with lawmakers at the state and federal level to amplify the patient voice, funding state and nationwide research as well as hosting awareness and educational events across the entire state of Michigan. The Michigan Lupus Foundation has been continually serving Michigan since 1974 and is working to build a brighter future for all lupus patients and their families. For more information, visit http://milupus.org.
To download a pdf of this press release, click here.
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