For today’s podcast we have a special guest with us sharing her lupus story. Rupee discusses her diagnosis at a young age with lupus, the complications that arose and the importance of having a support network. We talk about how she satisfied her natural curiosity to learn about lupus and how her journey helped shape where she is at today.

Visit our website (www.lupusontario.org) or our social media to register on May 19th, 2022 for the virtual Lupus Symposium taking place on October 22nd, 2022. The symposium will bring together leaders in medicine, research, health-tech and even policy to further support the community we care so deeply about.

Register for the 2022 Symposium!

https://pheedloop.com/EVEDNDOVRDCBM/site/home/

Let us know what you want to see in a Lupus Symposium! Email is at [email protected].

Have you ever considered naturopathic medicine to help you through your health journey? Have you wondered what a visit to a naturopath might look like or what a naturopathic practitioner can do for lupus or other chronic illnesses? If so, then you'll love this episode!

Today we speak with Dr. Sasha Coleman, ND about naturopathic medicine. We discuss specifically how a lupus patient may benefit from a naturopathic approach, but also of other chronic illness as well. We talk about the tools and approach naturopathic medicine can take in assessing, treating and helping to prevent illness, as well as what that first meeting with a naturopathic doctor is like.

Please stay tuned to the Lupus Ontario Podcast and Lupus Ontario Social Media as we move closer to the month of May. As many of you know, the month of May is Lupus Awareness month and specifically May 10th has been declared Lupus Awareness Day in Ontario. We will have special announcements throughout the month of May. Please stay tuned for some exciting events to come!

We are joined today by Mustapher who takes us through his lupus journey. Mustapher opens up about how the illness first began and the symptoms he endured, the complications that arose as the disease impacted his brain, kidneys, skin and heart. 

We also speak about how he was eventually diagnosed with lupus and how his life changed over that time. His journey was complex and the impact on his life profound, but his story has an unexpected and wonderful ending.

Join us for this great conversation.

For more information about lupus, support and resources, please visit www.lupusontario.org.

We are joined today by Dr. Tala El Tal to discuss lupus from the pediatric perspective. 

Dr. El Tal has recently completed her pediatric rheumatology fellowship at The Hospital For Sick Children (SickKids Hospital) in Toronto. Her clinical research interest focus on cognitive impairment, as well as mental health screening and interventions. Dr. El Tal is also the recipient of the 2021-2022 Geoff Carr fellowship awarded by Lupus Ontario to further research and practice in the area of lupus.

If you would like to donate to lupus research, or to the Geoff Carr fellowship to help train the next generation of lupus specialists (lupologists), please visit: https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/LupusOntario/membership.html

If you have comments or suggestions please write to us: [email protected].

Many individuals with Lupus are living with multiple autoimmune conditions. Lupus Ontario in collaboration with Sjogren’s Society of Canada, Arthritis Society, Raynaud's Association of America, and Fibromyalgia London Group will be hosting an information session to introduce these support networks and resources.

Presenters include:

Linda Keill, President of Lupus Ontario

Dr. Leslie Laing, President of Sjogren’s Society of Canada

Jan Nitti, Board of Director with Raynaud’s Association of America

Jacqueline Fraser, Fibromyalgia London Group

Danielle Hogg, Occupational Therapist with the Arthritis Society

Register at:

https://www.lupusontario.org/event/lupus-ontario-panel-discussion/

Our extra special guest today is Dr. Konstantinos Tselios. Not just a Rheumatologist and specialist when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of Lupus patients, Dr. Tselios is also an Assistant Professor with the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. 

Dr. Tselios joins us to talk about the medical journey a Lupus patient can go through, during and after diagnosis - but through the lens of the physician.  We talk about everything from the the patient-doctor relationship, how much information a Rheumatologist may receive about a patient upon referral, the impact some medications can have over time, through to the areas Lupus research is focusing on today.

We also have a fascinating conversation about his most recent endeavour to uncover the mysteries of Lupus and improve both research and treatment - the creation of the Lupus Ontario Anne Matheson Biobank. Development of the Biobank is underway, it is designed to collect and store samples and be a central repository from which future research can be derived. The Biobank hopes to start receiving the first collection of samples in early 2022.

Join us on this exciting conversation where we get a feel for what the physician goes through along the Lupus journey with patients, as well as insights into the cutting edge of Lupus research!

If you have comments or suggestions please write to us: [email protected].

Want to get in touch with Lupus Ontario? Reach out to us at: [email protected].

Today we speak with Joy Philips. Joy has a passion for dance and theatre, so much so that she had crafted her vision of her future around this passion and pursued it at the prestigious Randolph College For The Performing Arts in Toronto. However, being diagnosed with Lupus and confronted with the symptoms of the disease, Joy found herself having to pivot from the path of her dreams to something else.

Recognizing her innate ability to research her own diagnosis, as well as her curiosity about seemingly all things medical, Joy leveraged her Lupus diagnosis into a powerful motivator to alter her career path toward science and indeed medicine. Joy returned to school after having been diagnosed. She attend the University of Toronto and studied in Biology and Bioethics. Joy currently works as part of a dedicated team at The Hospital For Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, studying metabolism.

Join us as we talk about what making that academic and career pivot was like, and how attending university for a second time, but now with Lupus, altered her path forward.

If you have comments or suggestions please write to us: [email protected].

Want to get in touch with Lupus Ontario? Reach out to us at: [email protected].

**Reminder, Lupus Ontario cannot offer medical advice, but may be able to offer resources to help you better engage in your care.

Meghan is a recent graduate of the Bachalor of Commerce (BCom) program at the University of Ottawa. In our conversation Megan shares the immense struggle that students can deal with when considering taking time off of school, but also the growth that can come from it. We also talk about everything from sports, to residence life, and asking professors for assistance with exams. The conversation is jam-packed full of insights and advice that can be applied both inside and outside of a university or college lecture hall and dorm. This is an amazing conversation that you will come away from with valuable, practical advice for so many situations.

If you have comments or suggestions please write to us: [email protected].

Want to get in touch with Lupus Ontario? Reach out to us at: [email protected].

**Reminder, Lupus Ontario cannot offer medical advice, but may be able to offer resources to help you better engage in your care.

Hello and welcome to the Lupus Ontario Podcast.

With the return to school upon us for so many in Ontario, throughout the month of September we will be speaking with students to share what life with lupus is like as they strive to succeed in academics and with student life.

If you are at all interested in understanding what student life can be like while confronting an illness, then you’ll find our conversations absolutely fascinating. Hunter Hogarth begins our series. Hunter is entering his 3rd year at Queens University studying Biology.

Hunter takes us through his journey of being diagnosed with lupus at a very young age, as well as battling other conditions at the time of diagnosis such as Chorea. He speaks about the power of keeping a positive outlook, as well as the desire to give back to SickKids Hospital where the medical professionals had such a profound impact on him at an early age.

If you have comments or suggestions please write to us: [email protected].

Want to get in touch with Lupus Ontario? Reach out to us at: [email protected].

**Reminder, Lupus Ontario cannot offer medical advice, but may be able to offer resources to help you better engage in your care.

Today on the podcast I have an extra special guest. If you are at all interested in understanding some of the difficulty in diagnosing lupus, the toll that can take on an individual or perhaps you are dealing with lupus and its effect on multiple organ systems – then you will find the following conversation to be incredibly enlightening.

Yadi Castro was diagnosed with lupus 8 years ago however, her journey to that diagnosis was quite remarkable. Misdiagnosed a number of times from having an ailment with her gallbladder through to leukemia and even having undergone surgeries, Yadi’s story illustrates the sometimes elusive nature in obtaining an official lupus diagnoses and underscores the intense toll that lupus can take on an individual and their family.

Though the conversation with Yadi is somewhat brief, she will be joining us again later to better explore her story in more detail – starting from the very beginning of when symptoms first began, what they were and how her journey evolved to the official diagnosis of lupus.

If you have comments or suggestions about the podcast, let us know: [email protected].

Wanting to get in touch with Lupus Ontario? Visit us at www.lupusontario.org or reach out to us at [email protected].

**Reminder, Lupus Ontario cannot offer medical advice, but may be able to offer resources to help you better engage in your care.