News Briefs

The Sixth Annual Stroll for Scleroderma

The Sixth Annual Stroll for Scleroderma will be on  June 11, starting at 9:00 am at Deer Island Harborwalk..

The walk is in honor of Don Legere, who suffers from Systemic Scleroderma, the most serious form of the disease. In the last five years combined more than $45,000 has been raised, all of which went to Scleroderma Foundation New England to help raise awareness and find a cure.

For the past two years the walk has been virtual due to the pandemic

 Don  has been fighting Scleroderma for 14 years. He received a stem-cell transplant as part of a trial study in 2015 and there was hope that the transplant would stop the progression of his disease. In early 2017, Don found out that the treatment  did not. Since there is still no known cure for Scleroderma, Don is on chemotherapy for the remainder of his life, in order to slow the progression of his disease. He struggles daily with the effects of the autoimmune disease, as well as the other diseases it has brought on, such as Interstitial Lung Disease, Pulminary Arterial Hypertension, and Raynaud’s Syndrome.

About Scleroderma

Scleroderma is a chronic, autoimmune disease. There is no known cause and no known cure YET. The immune system in a patient attacks its own body. Scleroderma means “hard skin”. However, the disease causes serious damage to internal organs including the lungs, heart and gastrointestinal tract. There are some medications which can ease some symptoms but there is NO cure.

June is Scleroderma Awareness month. My family and the Scleroderma Foundation are grateful for those who help raise awareness and funds to support research and create hope for scleroderma patients and their families.

For more information please vista the web site at:

https://national.scleroderma.org/site/TR/Events/NewEnglandChapter?team_id=28123&pg=team&fr_id=4702#.YpjKr_PMK_4