Hospital for Special Surgery Celebrates October -- Lupus Awareness Month – With a Chinese Banquet

NEW YORK—October 27, 2006

To celebrate October as Lupus Awareness month, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) hosted a dinner event, "Lupus Across Cultures - Learning From Each Other" at the Golden Bridge Restaurant in Chinatown, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006.  Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) serves the Chinese community through LANtern (Lupus Asian Network).
 
More than 70 participants took part in an eight-course Chinese banquet. Speakers included volunteer counselors as well as physicians. 

"The theme of the event underscores the fact that lupus, a chronic autoimmune disorder, primarily affects women of color," said Karen Ng, senior program coordinator, LANtern (Lupus Asian Network) at HSS.

"As a young Chinese-American woman diagnosed with lupus in 2000, I was lost, confused and terrified," said Ms. Ng. "I tried to find as much information on lupus as I could, but I still felt very lonely in my struggles. Traditional monthly support groups just didn't work for me. Starting the LANtern (Lupus Asian Network) program, which connects lupus patients and family members from the Chinese community with others who share the same language and cultural background, has enabled me to help others reduce their feelings of isolation and give them strength and hope to live with this disease," she said.

Ms. Ng was featured in Lupus Now, the magazine published by the Lupus Foundation of America, discussing multicultural perspectives on lupus.

Hospital for Special Surgery peer to peer telephone and in-person programs are the only ones in the country designed to provide education and support in Chinese (LANtern - Lupus Asian Network), Spanish (Charla de Lupus/Lupus Chat), and English (LupusLine) in a culturally relevant way.

Several new publications now available by these Hospital for Special Surgery programs include the 2006 revised edition of "For the Inquiring Teen with Lupus: Our Thoughts, Issues and Concerns"(pdf file), the only booklet designed by and for teens with lupus.  LANtern has also published two new bilingual educational brochures, "Talking About Lupus"(pdf file), and "Lupus: Myths and Facts"(pdf file).  These publications are available free of charge for people with lupus and their families, and to health care professionals caring for them.

Hospital for Special Surgery offers outstanding clinical care and research for lupus, a rheumatologic disease that disproportionately affects women of color. The Hospital offers more support and education programs than any other hospital in the country for people with this illness and their family members.

For more information about the banquet, please call Karen Ng, senior program coordinator, LANtern, at 212.774.2508.