If you live in the Los Angeles area, please join KPCC on Saturday, May 13 for a panel discussion on what makes a medical condition "invisible": What is unique about the suffering of someone who has R.A. or chronic migraine headaches? What challenges does that person face in communicating her or his condition to a health provider? And is this a matter of public health?

Conditions like cancer, heart disease and AIDS strike fear into the heart of anybody with a elementary knowledge of health. So-called "invisible" conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, chronic migraine headaches and chronic fatigue syndrome, on the other hand, may be met with blank stares – or worse, dismissiveness. But to the person who lives with these conditions, life is profoundly different and more difficult than it was before its onset.

This Crawford Family Forum (474 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA) panel discussion will shed light on what makes a medical condition "invisible": What is unique about the suffering of someone who has R.A. or chronic migraine headaches? What challenges does that person face in communicating her or his condition to a health provider? And is this a matter of public health?

This discussion will also look at how invisible conditions affect low-income communities, where there's a widespread lack of access to primary care, let alone the specialists who treat R.A. and severe migraines. What options does an uninsured, single mother living with migraines have?

Bring your questions and your stories as we explore invisible suffering.

Guests:

Dr. Andrew Charles, professor of neurology at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and the director of the school's Headache Research & Treatment Program

Arlene Grau, patient living with rheumatoid arthritis, migraines and fibromyalgia

Nancy Clifton-Hawkins, principal consultant at public health consulting firm Clifton-Hawkins and Associates

Moderator:

José Martinez (Twitter handle: @jose_martinez), KPCC reporter on health and quality of life in South Los Angeles

Admission is FREE, but RSVPs are required.

1:30pm - Doors Open
2:00pm - Program
http://www.scpr.org/events/2013/05/18/invisible-suffering/