Autoimmunity Patients Face Cost, Diagnosis, Care Challenges
Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system becomes dysfunctional and begins attacking healthy tissue and organs. More than 20 million Americans suffer from a myriad of autoimmune diseases, such as thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, that can significantly impact their quality of life. Many autoimmune patients often have to deal with years of misdiagnosis and untreated symptoms before they finally receive a proper diagnosis. Since a majority of autoimmune diseases have no cure, patients such as Beth VanOrden from Athens, Texas, have to take various medications to manage symptoms for the rest of their lives. VanOrden suffers from Hashimoto’s…