VALPARAISO | Susan Skinner, a registered nurse, will be the speaker at the Lupus Foundation of America's Valparaiso support group meeting Nov. 18. The meeting will be held at the Education & Rehabilitation Center, 1401 Calumet Ave., and will begin at 6:30 p.m. Skinner will discuss guided imagery.

The Valparaiso support group meets the third Tuesday of each month. Phyllis Simko, the executive director of the Indiana chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America, is the facilitator of the support group and can be reached at (866) 762-6575.

All foundation support group meetings are free and to the public. Participants do not have to be a member of the chapter to attend. The purpose of support group meetings is to encourage patients and share skills for coping with lupus.

"We welcome those with lupus and those individuals with associated autoimmune and connective tissue diseases to join our support groups," said Simko. "With lupus and other auto-immune diseases, family, friends and health field workers are welcome to attend support group meetings."

Approximately 1.5 million Americans have a form of lupus. Based on 2006 census information, it is estimated that 34,187 of Indiana's residents have lupus; including 2,671 residents in Lake County, 865 residents in Porter County and 597 residents in LaPorte County.

More than 5 million people worldwide struggle with the health consequences of lupus. Inflammation is considered the primary feature of lupus. Lupus is a potentially fatal autoimmune disease capable of damaging virtually any part of the body, including the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain.

More than half of all people with lupus suffer four or more years and visit three or more doctors before being diagnosed with lupus.

Nine out of ten people with lupus are women. Eighty percent of new lupus cases are diagnosed among women ages 15 to 44.

The Lupus Foundation of America is the nation's leading nonprofit voluntary health organization dedicated to finding the causes and cure for lupus. Research, education, and patient services are at the heart of LFA's programs. The Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter provides awareness and education for the signs and symptoms of lupus for early diagnosis and treatment. Volunteers from the chapter facilitate support group meetings in Lake and Porter Counties as well as Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Richmond and Evansville. Support group meetings are free and provide lupus education as well as peer support.

The chapter office, which serves the entire state, is at 2642 Eleanor St. Portage.

For more information about the Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana chapter, visit www.lupusindiana.org.

- For The Times