Senate Resolution 35 Summary

• Declares May 16, 2013, as Lupus Advocacy Day in Oklahoma and designates May 2013 as Lupus Awareness Month

• Recognizes that approximately 50,000 Oklahomans have Lupus and notes that more women die annually from Lupus-related symptoms than from breast cancer

• Identifies Lupus as an acute and chronic autoimmune disease affecting multiple organ systems, including skin, lungs, heart, kidneys, and brain, with potential for seizures, strokes, heart attacks, and organ failures

• Notes that 90 percent of Lupus diagnoses occur in women of childbearing age, with African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and Asian Americans experiencing two to three times higher incidence rates

• Directs distribution of the resolution to the Oklahoma Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America