National CFS Public Awareness Campaign Comes To Philadelphia
Jan. 14th - 21st
"The Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome," a traveling photo exhibit that is part of a national health education initiative sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the CFIDS Association of America, will make its Philadelphia debut in January.
"The Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" (CFS) will be displayed at Amtrak's 30th Street Station (corner of 30th and Market streets) in the North Waiting Room from January 14 –21. This event is free and open to the public.
The photo exhibit is part of the first nationwide education and awareness campaign for CFS in the United States. The compelling display features the portraits and stories of CFS patients, family members and health care professionals.
Although more than one million Americans suffer from CFS, less than 20% have been diagnosed, compromising their health care. The campaign is designed to educate the public and health care professionals about diagnosis and treatment of this medical condition and to help Americans learn to recognize the symptoms of CFS and seek medical care if they think they or a family member may be suffering from CFS. The theme of the campaign is "Get informed. Get diagnosed. Get help."
"Educating the public and health care professionals about CFS is critical to achieving better diagnosis rates, better care and a more compassionate social landscape for patients," said Kimberly McCleary, president and CEO of the CFIDS Association of America, a nonprofit organization that educates the public, patients and health care professionals about CFS and funds research into the cause and possible treatments for it. "This campaign provides credible, evidence- based information on an illness that is still widely misunderstood."
CFS is characterized by at least six months of profound, incapacitating fatigue and postexertional malaise — a worsening of symptoms following physical or mental activity. Other defining symptoms include impaired memory or concentration, sleep problems, muscle pain, joint pain, headaches, sore throat and tender lymph nodes.
The CFIDS Association of America is the nation's leading nonprofit organization committed to conquering CFS. The Association is second to the federal government in funding initiatives for CFS. Since 1987 the CFIDS Association has invested $22.3 million in CFS education, public policy and research. CFS is also known as chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS). For more information, visit www.cfids.org/cfs.
