Today is World Arthritis Day. People with arthritis from around the world join together to make their voices heard on this day. The aims of World Arthritis Day are:

• To raise awareness of arthritis in all its forms among the medical community, people with arthritis and the general public;
• To influence public policy by making decision-makers aware of the burden of arthritis and the steps which can be taken to ease it;
• To ensure all people with arthritis and their caregivers are aware of the vast support network available to them.

www.worldarthritisday.org

I have rheumatoid arthritis. It’s not a disease of the elderly, as is commonly thought. It can strike children, teenagers and young adults as well. I’ve had it for more than 20 years, and while modern medicine has come a long way in treating the disease and making it, for some, more bearable, there is still no cure. Please tell others about World Arthritis Day. Offer your concern, compassion and support to those who suffer with it all over the world. And perhaps, working together, we can find a cure.