Curing Lupus: Thousands Ready To Walk In Research Fundraiser

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Next Saturday, thousands of people will put on purple laces and take steps to help find a cure for Lupus.

The chronic auto-immune disease affects about 1.5 million Americans and is most common in women ages 15 to 44. Women of color are reportedly at greater risk for the illness.

Andrea O'Neill of the Lupus Research Alliance tells CBS2 the disease is very hard to diagnose, but one tell-tale sign of Lupus is a "butterfly shaped rash across the nose and cheeks."

"Lupus can be managed. There are treatments however, many of them have serious side effects," the organization's executive director explained.

O'Neill says next week's New York event will raise over $1 million for Lupus research, but it will also be a fun event for children, with tie-dye and face painting stations set up as well.

The Walk to Cure Lupus starts on Oct. 13 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum at 9 a.m.

For more information on the walk, click here.