[Marxism] Fwd from Lupus Discussion [Hunter Bear/Sam Friedman]

["Hunter Gray" <hunterbadbear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Note by Hunter Bear:

Lupus -- an obviously  very serious disease -- is still virtually unknown by
most people.  It's hitting women, Blacks, and Native Americans
disproportionately hard and the SLE  [Systemic Lupus Erythematosus] death
rate is climbing rapidly.  Our Lupus Discussion group is off to a good
start -- and very occasionally we'll forward stuff from that that broadens
public awareness.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------

>From Hunter Bear:

Excellent questions and points, Sam.  My knowledge of all or any of this is,
of course, recent as hell -- but it has been something of a crash course for
me.  A cardinal rule, however, seems to be that little is known about Lupus.
Here, anyway, are some of my thoughts:

The SLE [Systemic Lupus] death rate is going up.  Two of your points strike
me as very much on target:  better detection and declining/deteriorating
health care with collateral dimensions of inequality.  For a long time,
Eldri and I suspect anyway, a death from Lupus [especially SLE] might be
seen and recorded as kidney failure or pneumonia -- or a kind of
hard-to-find malignancy.  Now, there might well be more accurate
delineations.  On the other hand, health care has been going downhill fast,
and out of existence for many -- and Lupus and Lupus deaths, increasing as a
result of poor or no health care, may still be often masked.

Even with good health care, I've almost died three times in these past few
months -- and have now racked up almost a month of hospital time. [Much of
that was in intensive care.]

My immunity is shot and I have to be somewhat careful about other peoples'
even rather minimal diseases -- such as bad colds.

As I mentioned in a very recent post, my own situation saw weeks of
diagnostic efforts before SLE was conclusively determined -- via biopsy of
my extraordinary skin rash; and complex blood testing for SLE/ANA
specifically, done at Salt Lake. [ANA means anti-nuclear antibodies.]  So
far, as a result of my extreme form of SLE, I've had vasculitis [which
wrecked my ability to regenerate blood -- and produced profound anemia and
great weakness]; pneumanitis [a kind of pneumonia effecting a serious attack
on my lungs]; a bizarre climb in my blood sugar count [almost 1,000] which
triggered diabetes as a serious and on-going disease in its own right; and
attacks on other organs [e.g. kidneys etc] which we appear to have fought
off.  It's possible that, in other settings, my illness could be attributed
solely to one of the foregoing -- and not chronic SLE.  [In certain sections
of some Indian reservations, Lupus could be attributed to "bad medicine" --
i.e., witchcraft.  Remember, I grew up among the Navajo and I don't make
light of witchcraft.]

The only infection I had, as far as I know, were the very large [quarter
size in some cases] blisters on my face throughout the general mouth area.
Mike Francisco, the really first-rate cancer specialist [to whom I'd been
sent] was able to rule out all cancer and any internal infections.  But, as
I've indicated, I was sick as hell and he kept doggedly at it -- eventually,
with the help of a fine dermatologist, pinning down SLE.

Sunlight can trigger Lupus in some people.  Since I was rarely in the sun --
always doing my mountain hiking in the very early morning hours before any
real dawn and always wearing a widebrimmed hat whenever I was out, it was no
factor in my case.  No air pollution for us 'way up here -- and little in
the Pocatello region generally.

But, as we've noted, Lupus wears many, many faces.  At this point, I can
only give my own experience.  I'll have it for the rest of my life, will
have to take many pills -- especially prednizone whose many side effects are
difficult.

Compared to AIDs victims, the Lupus numbers are very small.  On the other
hand, groups like the Lupus Foundation -- and those doing intricate studies
[such as the Oklahoma work] -- are building momentum in the framework of
organizing and advocacy.

Solidarity - Hunter Gray [Hunter Bear]

----- Original Message -----
From: <sam4wp@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <LupusDiscussion_Posts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 3:58 PM
Subject: RE: [LupusDiscussion_Posts] FWD from Barry Schier: disproportionate
Lupus impact on women, Blacks, Natives


> I read a couple articles on lupus epidemiology and note two things:
> 1.  S.E. Lupus deaths have been increasing (per capita) over the last few
decades.  The authors did not seem to think that it was due to better
detection, but I am not totally convinced.
>
> 2.  If death rate has been increasing, this raises several questions in my
mind:
> a.  Is it due to increasing inequality and deteriorating access to health
care?
> b.  Is there a possible infectious cofactor?
> c.  Is there an environmental contamination aspect?  Here, it would be
interesting to see some geographical information system analyses of where
the deaths have been occurring with where the pollutants are.
>
> Has anyone seen anything on this?
>
> Also: In HIV/AIDS, among other diseases, there has been a very important
mobilization by those with the disease (and some of their friends etc.) that
has greatly influenced research funding etc.  With NIH budgets under real
pressure, this might be hard to win on, but is any of this happening?  Or
are the numbers too small?
>
> best
>
> sam
>
>


HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR]
www.hunterbear.org

When you cut to the bone  and cut away the college degrees, academic and
other titles, published books and articles, ours is essentially a working
class and Indian family.  We consistently join unions  -- and we always
support them with the greatest vigor.


It's critical to always keep fighting -- and to always remember that, if one
lives with grace, he/she should be prepared to die with grace.






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