On June 13th, I will join others in San Francisco for the 2009 National Psoriasis Walk for Awareness. Over the past 10 years, I’ve had mild psoriasis and recently it’s been acting up more and I’ve had some issues that could, someday, lead to psoriatic arthritis. The Walk for Awareness is just that – it’s a walk to raise awareness about psoriasis in society, because it can tend to be an embarrassing and frustrating disease to have. The fund raising portion of the walk is to go towards research to find a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
If you don’t have any idea what psoriasis is, this is from the National Psoriasis Foundation website:
Psoriasis is a chronic disease of the immune system that appears on the skin, usually in the form of thick, red, scaly patches. Up to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis. Psoriasis is associated with other serious conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis.
It’s a really annoying disease, one that can drastically impact the quality of lives for those living with it. Last fall I went to one meeting of a support group for those with psoriasis and it was really sad to hear stories from people who are just too embarrassed to go out in public because of their psoriasis.
I’ll be walking on June 13th – thanks to everyone who donated money – I met my donation goal of $500 and went over as well! So thanks so much! If you still want to donate you can here. Thanks everyone!