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Opinion
Opinion & Viewpoints
EDITORIAL A look at some stunning statistics about Lupus
May is Lupus Awareness Month and locally, the Town of Kearny lights up Town Hall purple during the month – the color chosen to represent the affliction — to remind residents. But just what is Lupus?
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, Lupus is a chronic (long term) autoimmune disease that may cause pain in any part of the body. As an autoimmune disease, it “attacks healthy tissue in the body.”
It mostly affects the skin, joints and internal organs, the foundation says, but it goes well beyond those body parts. Shockingly, 9 of 10 people who suffer from Lupus are women. It develops mostly in women 15 to 44, but has a much higher incidence in the Black, Asian-American, Latino, Native-American and Pacific-Islander communities.
Other statistics, the Lupus Foundation says, include: n Around 1.5 million Americans and 5 million worldwide suffer from Lupus. n The symptoms of the disease are wide-ranging. According to the LFA, “people with lupus can experience significant symptoms, such as pain, extreme fatigue, hair loss, cognitive issues and physical impairments that affect every facet of their lives. Many suffer from cardiovascular disease, strokes, disfiguring rashes and painful joints. For others, there may be no visible symptoms.” n The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate 16,000 new cases of Lupus develop each year and 1 in 3 with it also suffer from one or more other autoimmune diseases. n Of all, the worst statistic is that there is no cure. And, 10 to 15% of all who have it will die prematurely.
There are four types of Lupus: Systemic, which primarily affects internal organs; Cutaneous, which primary affects the skin; Drug-induced, which is brought on by high doses of certain meds; and Neonatal, which is caused, in-utero, by antibodies in the mother. It is estimated the cost to care for Lupus, annually, averages around $34,000.
Lupus is a disease many have heard of but likely know little about, unless one knows someone personally who has it. So as we continue through Lupus Awareness Month, it is our hope this small piece might be enlightening — and we certainly urge everyone to take time to learn even more.
You may do so by visiting www.lupus.org.
LaClair: Satter, though reasonable, is off base with term-limit views
To the Editor:
Jack Satter seems like a reasonable fellow. (Letter, April 27, 2022.) In his letter on term limits, he writes well and respectfully, and tries to see both sides.
But when you read his letter carefully, you see a dynamic that is driving our democracy off the cliff. Based on his letter, two points resonate with Mr. Satter: politicians have created our country's problems and big money “nullifies democracy.”
You can look for core organizing principles in anyone's writing: Mr. Rogers’, Mr. Rose’s, Mr. Canessa’s, mine — anyone’s. The core organizing principle in Mr. Satter's letter is that the problem alone identifies the answer. In other words, react to whatever makes you angry.
That does not work in life, and it will not work in politics. Instead of focusing on our anger, we should focus on solving problems. Politicians do cause problems, when they are being bribed to do the wrong things.
Our problems have nothing to do with how long elected officials are in office. Term limits would not be “a beginning,” but only another step into the abyss created by well-funded propaganda and dark money. They have been tried, and have made no difference. Yet the people are angry, so they blame “the politicians,” completely ignoring the fact that there are good public servants.
Crooks will always try to get you to look the other way while they pick your pocket. That is what term limits are about: big-money special interests distracting the people from the real cause of our political problems, so they can put their boot-licking servants in power. They will always have a ready supply of them. It happens every time, in plain view, and still, good people like Mr. Satter do not see it.
True public servants, on the other hand, are rare. We need to be able to keep them for as long as we can.
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing. It also triumphs when well-meaning people do not think clearly.
Paul L. LaClair Kearny
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MAY IS Car Care Month
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out the gym’s two Fairplay electronic scoreboards and install two new models for $13,450. Plus, Jack Devine Restorations, of Marlton, will refinish the gym floor for $28,380. — Yantacaw Elementary School is due for a “secure vestibule” project by Practical LLC, of Ridgewood, at a cost of $1,091,980. Yantacaw is the last remaining school facility in the district whose main entrance and lobby are awaiting installation of electronic-safety features designed to protect students, teachers and staff Michelle advertising@theobserver.com 201-991-1600 from unwelcome intrusions. As part of the reconfiguration Client: of space accompanying secured quarters, the principal’s office Mid-Realty, Inc. would be shifted from its current second-floor location to the first-floor lobby. Meanwhile, in the district’s
Advertising: Here is the updated template with a new photo of Jarlynn Hyde:personnel arena, the search for a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Julie Glazer, slated to depart June 30, continues. Carnicella said the school board met April 7 with Ronald Bolandi, a consultant hired to lead the search, to review a list of 27 candidates who, according to Carnicella, represented “a mix of both internal and external applicants.” He said the candidate field was narrowed to 10 who met both school board and stakeholders’ qualifying criteria and who were invited to interviews with Bolandi. Nine accepted “and feedback (from those interviews) was shared with the board,” he said. Now, the board will be conducting two rounds of interviews, the first during the week beginning May 2, followed by a second during the week of May 16, when two finalists will be selected. Carnicella said he anticipated the board choosing a new superintendent at the next board meeting on May 23 or by early June. What Carnicella didn’t say was because of conflicts arising from certain board members having relatives who work for the district, under state school statute, only six of the nine members should be participating in the interview process, according to a source familiar with the situation. Whether that will happen remains to be seen. In the meantime, with Glazer out on terminal leave in the meantime, Kent Bania, the assistant superintendent, is serving as the district’s acting chief administrator.
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Kearny goes purple for Lupus Awareness Month
Mayor Alberto G. Santos and Councilmembers Albino Cardoso, Marytrine De Castro and Peter Santana joined Elizabeth SantaCruz and her daughter Miah Andrade, Caring for Lupus, TV news anchor Brenda Blackmon and the Kearny Eagles to officially kickoff May as Lupus Awareness Month with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Town Hall Saturday, April 30.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease of the immune system, one in which the system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake.
The chronic inflammatory disease can affect various parts of the body, especially skin, joints, blood and kidneys.
Women get it far more often than men and it is more common in Black, Latino and Native American women.
Its cause is unknown and while it can be fatal, those with Lupus can expect to live a normal lifespan.
Santos issued a proclamation designating May as Lupus Awareness Month in Kearny to raise awareness about and the need for more research funding, accurate diagnosis and effective treatments that will lead to a cure for this illness that affects so many people.
To learn more about Lupus or get involved, visit
www.lupusresearch.org or www.kellyfundforlupus.org.
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