| Place a Classified | Subscribe today | July 10, 2009 |
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Local battles lupus
jhancock@journalnet.com
POCATELLO -- Lacey Murdock has battled acute cutaneous lupus for more than three years and said Saturday that she is ready to turn to some alternative treatments for relief from the autoimmune disease. As an autoimmune disease, lupus attacks the body, which Murdock said takes the form of mylar rashes that start on her face and spread to her extremities. While the rashes subside in cooler weather, Murdock said during the middle of summer she often looks as if hot grease had been thrown on her. "It eats away layers of my skin," said Murdock, who bears the scars and discolored skin common among those with the ailment.
The breakouts can also come with the psychological pain of feeling like a social outcast. "I've had people turn around and look at me in a store and then walk away," she said. "Some just don't know how to respond, and others think it might be contagious."
Murdock, 26, said that she has spent the last three and a-half years on a medical roller coaster, during which a particular treatment will work short-term and then her body starts rejecting it. "Between treatment regimens, the lupus flares up and makes it difficult for me to handle the new medication," she said. "We are now looking at a number of alternative treatments."
Those treatments are not typically covered by medical insurance and Murdock is no exception. Among some of the treatments she is trying are acupuncture, herbal medicines, and even yoga. "I am also working on some inner healings," she said. "I am confronting some past demons that may help with all of this."
But Murdock will be paying a lot of money out of pocket whether she takes medications prescribed by her doctor or enlists the help of nontraditional methods. "The new medicine my doctor wants to put me on in the spring will cost me $3,000 a month," Murdock said. "My insurance doesn't cover it because it's a new treatment."
To help offset her growing medical expenses, friends and family hosted a fundraiser Saturday night at the Pocatello Elks Lodge. During the event, a spaghetti dinner was served and a live band played. Cost was $5 for dinner and music. They also held a raffle and auctioned off a quilt that Murdock made.
"I really appreciate everyone who has donated time and money," she said. Those wishing to help Lacey Murdock can go to Key Bank in Pocatello, where an account is set up to receive donations.
By Jimmy Hancock
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