FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE J.C. VanderPutten-Bonner
March 7, 2007 516-783-3370

Bellmore, NY – On Monday March 5th, 2007 Dr. Phil McGraw made some very misleading, and incorrect comments about lupus on his daytime talk show. These statements were not only misinformed and misleading; they are proof once again that even in today’s high tech society, educated people know little or next to nothing about a disease that affects over 2 million Americans, and is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy, and Sickle Cell Anemia combined.

The references to lupus on Dr. Phil’s show were only a small part of the program, which was regarding Anna Nicole Smith and her friend, Frank who had stated earlier this week, that Anna Nicole suffered from lupus and kept it a secret form the world. During the interview Dr. Phil made the following comments: “Lupus is an autoimmune deficiency. But it is not a life-threatening disease. It’s something that is rather akin to arthritis and it can cause very debilitating problems of the joints, heart, lungs and skin. All types of things, but it can be controlled very effectively with medication in most cases.”

The unconfirmed rumors surrounding the death of Anna Nicole and her possible link to lupus have generated much interest in the disease. Unfortunately, the media coverage has not properly stated what lupus is, and what people with lupus suffer through on a daily basis, and this interview with Dr.Phil, has served to only continue the flow of incorrect facts.

Lupus is a systemic disease. It is in fact an over acting immune system, not an immune deficiency that causes most of the trouble for lupus patients. The Immune system normally protects the body against viruses, bacteria and other foreign materials. In an autoimmune disease like lupus, the immune system loses its ability to tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against “self.” Lupus can and in many cases does attack and destroy many systems in the body from the kidneys, heart, skin, lungs, and central nervous system.

The Lupus Alliance of America represents thousands of people with lupus who suffer from a large array of symptoms from headaches, rashes, hair loss, nose and mouth ulcers, debilitating fatigue, arthritis, memory loss, cognitive dysfunction, kidney failure, seizures, fevers, painful joints, persistent weakness and more. The Alliance along with the over 2 Million Americans who have lupus have been fighting for years to spread awareness about this very real life threatening disease, that affects so many, gets little or no attention by the public at large, and when it does as seen on Dr. Phil it can be incorrect and misleading.

The Alliance would also like to inform both the public as well as Dr. Phil that the medication that he stated controlled lupus “very effectively,” can be almost as debilitating as the disease itself. Prednisone, Plaquenil, Cellcept and Cytoxan (a chemotherapy drug very commonly used to treat those with lupus) have a host of side effects such as weight gain, stretch marks, headaches, insomnia, and severe depression of the immune system, which opens the patient up to any and all infections.

Systemic Lupus can be extremely life-threatening and almost always life altering. The Lupus Alliance of America urges everyone to write to Dr. Phil and send him their stories on living with lupus, how it has affected their family life, how many hospital stays they have been through, chemotherapy visits, surgeries, biopsies, invasive procedures, medications, and more they have had to live through since diagnosis. Once you’re done with your letter, ask family members who have watched what you have been through to write, spouses who have lived through it all at your side, parents who have suffered watching their children fight this terrible disease, even friends who want the world to know what you have gone through. Ask everyone you know to write to Dr. Phil today and set the record straight!

If you or someone you know has lupus, or needs to know more please call the Alliance toll free at 1-800-850-9000, or email us at info@lupusliqueens.org.