PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — As we approach Lupus Awareness Month, which starts May 1, 10 On Your Side is taking a closer look at a rare, yet chronic autoimmune disease affecting so many lives.

According to the Lupus Foundation of America, 90% of people who have lupus are women, with people developing the disease from the ages of 15 to 44. In the last four to five years, only three drugs have been approved to treat lupus as it affects every patient differently.

Dr. Michael Cannon, a highly respected rheumatologist with Arthritis Consultants of Tidewater, said a complicated mix of people become diagnosed. It’s also two-to-three times more common in African American women, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. He emphasized that lupus is something patients have to learn to live with throughout their life.

Five million people have been diagnosed with lupus globally. Chastity Corbett of Newport News is one of them. Her journey began in 2005, and it has been 20 years since Corbett learned of her diagnosis. Still, she recalls the moment as if it were yesterday.

“I just remember telling my mom and my sister about the diagnosis, and we all were crying on the phone,” she said.

She developed a rash in college, then got a skin biopsy and was diagnosed one week later.
Cannon said lupus has both environmental and genetic components. And, similar to Corbett’s case, a relative may have been diagnosed prior.

“I just didn’t know, but after researching, [I found] out that I did have a great-grandmother who passed away and had lupus,” she said.

Cannon said most lupus patients have musculoskeletal symptoms such as joint pain, joint stiffness, muscle pain and muscle weakness, which is common for systemic lupus, a type Corbett is battling.

“So my lupus attacks my blood, my brain, my joints, my skin, you name it,” she said. “It’s been trying to attack this whole time. There’s been times that I had to have chemotherapy.”

According to Cannon, this will be a lifelong battle for patients.

“Unfortunately, depending on when people are diagnosed, they might present with problems with different organs,” Cannon said. “That’s the big challenge with lupus is that about 50% of the patients who develop lupus get damage in their organs over time, and we can’t repair that.”

Turning her pain into purpose, Corbett launched the Social Butterflies Foundation, which provides direct assistance, education and support services for those with lupus and fibromyalgia. You can find more information here.