Jani of imaware™ sits down with Kelly O’Neill from RAwarrrior.com. Kelly shares about the shock of learning she had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and how it caused sudden disability for her—an active and healthy young mom.

Together they chat about the nature of this invisible disease that causes the immune system to attack almost any part of the body. Kelly shares some of the various symptoms caused by the disease. They agree about the importance of recognizing that arthritis is only one symptom of RA—and why medical researchers have called it rheumatoid disease (RD).

Advocating for better outcomes

Kelly describes the early days of RA Warrior and her continuing goals to bring information and encouragement to people living with RD. She recalls creating the hashtag #rheum as her community grew too quickly to communicate directly with everyone as “a friend with RA.” She is clearly a passionate advocate for patients.

Kelly and Jani discuss the most pressing issue related to RA—how to treat it successfully. While there is still no cure for the disease, treating early can be much more effective. She contrasts her own persistent and progressive RA that was not treated early enough with aggressive early treatment that can bring about remissions and allow people to continue doing more of the things they love.

Mission-driven commitment to patients

As Jani explains, the imaware™ mission is to expand awareness of RA. There is an obvious connection between the missions of RA Warrior and imaware™. What could be more empowering for patients than using easy-to-follow instructions to essentially run a lab from their own homes in just five minutes? Many people will be diagnosed earlier as they are able to bring a detailed report to their doctor. Increasing awareness of RA will effectively lead to better outcomes.

Learn more about the imaware™ at-home rheumatoid arthritis test

imaware™ has launched the first ever at-home test for rheumatoid arthritis, which tests for multiple biomarkers associated with the condition. In fact, the CCP biomarker can help build awareness of rheumatoid arthritis in patients before symptoms show.