If you\u2019re wandering around Vancouver or other parts of B.C. this weekend and see landmarks glowing purple, there\u2019s a reason, and it\u2019s for a good cause.<\/p>\n
There will, in fact, be a record number of landmarks glowing purple across Vancouver and the province this weekend, including parts of B.C. like Whistler and Vancouver Island.<\/p>\n
May 10 marks World Lupus Day, and the landmarks will be glowing in solidarity and awareness of the day with the Lights for Lupus campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Vancouver to Whistler to Vancouver Island, some of the province\u2019s most recognizable sites will be illuminated as part of the national\u00a0Lights for Lupus\u00a0campaign, a highly visible effort to bring attention to a disease that often goes undiagnosed and misunderstood during Lupus Awareness month in May,\u201d the BC Lupus Society told Daily Hive.<\/p>\n
The society has provided a list of spots around B.C. that will be glowing, including:<\/p>\n
BC Place, Vancouver
\nSails of Light, Vancouver<\/p>\n
Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver<\/p>\n
Science World, Vancouver<\/p>\n
B.C. Legislature, Victoria<\/p>\n
Fitzsimmons Bridge, Whistler<\/p>\n
Port Coquitlam City Hall, Port Coquitlam<\/p>\n
Pinetree Way and the fountain at Lafarge Lake, Port Coquitlam<\/p>\n
City Hall, Maple Ridge<\/p>\n
The Bastion, Nanaimo<\/p>\n
District of Sechelt Municipal Hall, Sechelt<\/p>\n
Kinnaird Interchange Overpass, Castlegar<\/p>\n
Victoria Street Bridge, Trail<\/p>\n
Williams Lake City Hall, Williams Lake<\/p>\n
According to Dr. Antonio Avina-Zubieta, Professor of Medicine and Head of Rheumatology at UBC, the disease affects one in every 1,000 Canadians and around five million people around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile lupus can affect anyone, it is most commonly diagnosed in women between the ages of 18 and 44, though children can be affected too,\u201d Avina-Zubieta said.<\/p>\n
How lupus works is that it causes the immune system to attack healthy organs and tissues in the body.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf left untreated, it can lead to irreversible organ damage and premature mortality,\u201d the society says.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery additional landmark lighting up purple represents another step toward making lupus visible,\u201d said Ivana Cecic, Executive Director of the B.C. Lupus Society.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a disease that is so often overlooked, that visibility can make a real difference in how quickly people are diagnosed and supported.\u201d<\/p>\n
The B.C. Lupus Society is encouraging other businesses and individuals to take part. Businesses can light their windows and facades in purple, and individuals can wear purple.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re wandering around Vancouver or other parts of B.C. this weekend and see landmarks glowing purple, there\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-657636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}