Scleroderma Awareness Month and Scleroderma Awareness Day.pdf
SCLERODERMA AWARENESS MONTH
AND
SCLERODERMA AWARENESS DAY
2024
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, scleroderma is a chronic connective tissue disease which effects an estimated 10,000 people in North Carolina and 300,000 people in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the word scleroderma comes from two Greek words – sclero meaning hard, and derma meaning skin; in patients with scleroderma, the immune system becomes overactive and attacks its own tissues through an overproduction of collagen; and
WHEREAS, scleroderma is a highly individualized disease and symptoms range from very mild to life-threatening; it can develop and be found in every age group from infants to the elderly, but is found most frequently in those ages 25 to 55; and
WHEREAS, scleroderma can cause thickening and tightening of the skin, as well as serious damage to internal organs, including the lungs, heart, kidneys, esophagus, and gastrointestinal tract; and
WHEREAS, while there is not yet a cure for this disease, prompt and proper diagnosis and treatment by qualified physicians can minimize the symptoms of scleroderma and lessen the chance for irreversible damage; and
WHEREAS, there are five National Scleroderma Foundation support groups in the state of North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, the National Scleroderma Foundation’s mission is to advance medical research, promote disease awareness, and provide support and education to people with scleroderma, their families, and support networks;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim June, 2024, as “SCLERODERMA AWARENESS MONTH” and June 29, 2024, as “SCLERODERMA AWARENESS DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.
________________________________________
Roy Cooper
Governor
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-ninth day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.