Last weekend I had the pleasure of being invited to San Diego to visit Exagen Diagnostics Lab.
Exagen Diagnostics is doing some really cool things related to lupus and diagnosing it.
After being ill for a few days, my mom took me to my family doctor where some blood tests were done, and I was sent on my way. A few days after that, I didn’t seem to be getting any better, so my mom insisted on taking me to the hospital.
After arriving at the hospital, I was soon transferred over to sick kids hospital. Once there and admitted, my diagnosis came pretty quickly; within a few days.
It wasn’t until after I was diagnosed and I started to learn more about this disease that I realized that Lupus can often be difficult to diagnose. Some people wait days, weeks, even years before they are diagnosed.
After visiting Exagen’s corporate office and lab, I learned that Exagen developed AVISE Lupus, a lupus diagnostic test to help maximize diagnostic accuracy in the detection of SLE.
What makes this important is the fact that lupus mimics a lot of different conditions and vice versa. Having a test like this that can help doctors diagnose lupus in a more definite and accurate manner can help people get the help and treatment that they need quickly. This is true both for those who receive a positive result as well as others who receive a negative result and now know to explore other conditions/treatments.
I posted about my trip to San Diego on LinkedIn and received an amazing response from someone with lupus:
This is was so touching to me because this exactly what Exagen is aiming to change. If you haven’t heard of Exagen or would like to learn more about what they do, I encourage you to take a look at their site and all of the great things that they are doing