#WWLAM

If you have tuned in to my Twitch streams or watched my videos lately, you know that I have tossed around the five letters above. WWLAM stands for worldwide LAM (lymphangioleiomyomatosis). This acronym is used for LAM’s awareness month. Just like how October is breast cancer awareness month, LAM now has its own month of awareness.

The Worldwide LAM Patient Coalition designated the month of June as WWLAM. This brings together the LAM community on a global scale to educate about the signs and symptoms of LAM. It also provides an opportunity to further raise funds for women living with LAM, like me, and share the achievements of The LAM Foundation. These achievements will hopefully inspire more researchers and clinicians to optimize therapies and find a cure for LAM.

WWLAM Awareness Month gives me a chance to dive deeper into my LAM story and share why awareness is so important for rare illnesses. Because whenever I encounter new doctors, 9 out of 10 of them have never heard of LAM. Luckily, many of them have shown a passionate interest in learning about LAM and its existing treatments. However, some patients aren’t as lucky with their medical providers. Thus, it’s hard not to feel disheartened at this reality, especially when this can lead to misdiagnoses or improper care.

This is by no means the fault of the medical field. After all, not every medical professional can know every existing illness and treatment [though some do try]. That’s why many patients with severe illnesses take to advocacy. Through it, they are able to bring about help and change in the medical field while also sharing their stories so that they can connect with other patients and those who haven’t been diagnosed yet.

That’s why, as many of you know, I have devoted my platform to bringing about awareness for LAM and other chronic illnesses. Because even just mentioning LAM to someone who has never heard of it is raising awareness. The more people know, the better the chances for additional strides in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. This means a rise in clinical research, therapies, and trials that will benefit thousands of people.

So, if you can, all I ask is you do one of two things: mention The LAM Foundation or LAM to someone you know or use #WWLAM in a social media post before July. You don’t have to spend hours researching and you don’t even have to make a donation [unless you want to]. Just spread the word. Because a simple thing like that will have a huge impact.