Every day, millions of autoimmune disease patients suffer in silence with what are often "invisible" illnesses. With March set as Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month, this is our time to advocate for our diseases and show the world who we are!
While an estimated 20 to 30 million in the US are affected with autoimmune diseases, patients are often under-recognized and under-represented in the public eye. Although common autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus sometimes appear in the media, many others are mistakenly thought to be rare and ignored.
Because of this, many patients struggle for years to be believed and to obtain a diagnosis. Even then, treatment options can be limited, costly, or come with significant side effects. This is why it is so important for us to advocate and raise awareness for autoimmune diseases so that organizations like the NIH can increase funding and make a more concerted effort to study these diseases.
Our Faces of Autoimmune Disease campaign shows what everyday autoimmune disease patients look like and reminds the public that we are not invisible.
Through this campaign, we want to highlight that autoimmune diseases can affect people of all ages and backgrounds and show patients that they are not alone in their journeys. Our collage represents the diversity and solidarity of autoimmune disease patients, who remain resilient in the face of their life-altering chronic illnesses.
To help us raise awareness, please share our collage wherever you can with the hashtags #AutoimmuneAwarenessVoices and #AutoimmuneDiseaseAwareness.
Together, we can bring our stories to light and make an impact on autoimmune disease research! You can also add your photo here or share your stories here or here.
To support the Autoimmune Registry, please join our registry or share it with a friend who has an autoimmune condition. Donations are also greatly appreciated!
