We will be participating in the Virtual Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma walk-a-thon and we need your support to keep fighting for a cure.
This year the walk will be held Virtually again due to COVID-19. We hope that everyone will still join Team Bhagat and walk to find a cure in their neighborhood with family and friends. As we won't be able to all walk together, feel free to share videos, pictures or messages with one another on this day. Don't forget to wear your Team Bhagat shirts!!!
This year is the 32nd annual Philadelphia Walk-a-Thon for Scleroderma which will be held virtually on Saturday, June 26th at 10:30am!
We continue to fight for a cure for our mom, Neerja Bhagat. She bravely fought this disease for over 22 years and she fought for her family, not just for herself. We are here to carry on her legacy and carry on her fight to find a cure for Scleroderma! We can't do this alone, we need everyone's support! If you cannot attend the walk virtually, sharing this page or educating others on Scleroderma is helpful too. Any donation amount is appreciated. Thank you for continuing to fight with us!
Our Mom always fought for us and our needs and we are going to keep fighting for a cure for Scleroderma for her.
We want to thank our family and friends for all the support you have given our mom throughout her journey and for the support you have continued to give us, we are grateful for all of you. Thank you for continuing to share your wonderful stories of our mom with us.
Come out to the virtual walk on June 26th to celebrate Neerja Bhagat and to walk for those living with Scleroderma and those who are not with us anymore. Again, we cannot thank you all enough for the love and support you have given us not just these past two years, but throughout our mom's whole journey.
We know she will be walking with us!
We love and miss you everyday, Mom!
-- The Bhagat Family
In Our Mom's Words,
Scleroderma – misunderstood, misdiagnosed, underfunded – is a chronic connective tissue disease, classified as one of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases.The disease affects 300,000 people, 80% of which are women. The disease is complex and painful, and it has the potential to affect every organ in a person’s body. The disease can be localized or systemic. If it is localized it affects mainly the skin by hardening the skin. If it is systemic it can affect organs by hardening the organs. The cause is unknown, and there is no cure. The SFDV chapter supports patients in 3 states, Eastern Pennsylvania, portions of New Jersey and Delaware, partnering with 3 centers, the Scleroderma Centers at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Jefferson Health System and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and promoting 3 goals, educating the community, advocating for research and patients, and fighting for a cure. The funds that SFDV raises go to these missions. We rely on the support and generosity of donors to support our community as well as the mission of the National Foundation which is also 3 fold - support, Education and research. The National Foundation and its chapters are the leading source of Scleroderma related research and every year they allocate at least $1million or more through the Foundation’s research program.
Although there is no cure for Scleroderma at the present time, there are many treatments available. And, of course, there is always hope that in the not -too - distant future, medical research will find a cure. Research for Scleroderma is increasing each year. In fact, some of this research is made possible by your generous contributions. We can only hope that someday, this disease will have a cure, but for now, the fight is still on in many arenas.
Every step counts...educate, advocate and cure