Patient Insights Board Member
MarlaJan Wexler is a Registered Nurse, patient living with multiple chronic illnesses, and patient advocate. In her 40+ years, she has received diagnoses of tetralogy of Fallot, Systemic Lupus, Erythematosus, ITP, Behcet’s Disease, breast cancer, cervical cancer, Sjogren’s Syndrome, and more; she’s undergone 6 heart surgeries, a double-mastectomy, and been on chemotherapy for years. She was forced to pause her nursing career in 2012 when lupus began attacking major organs. In an effort to make a difference while out of work, MarlaJan started her blog, Luck Fupus, as a way to document and share the daily and long-term struggles of coping with several illnesses. What started as a journal of sorts, her blog became a place people on the web can go for support, up to date clinical information, advocacy, and a good laugh. She uses her platform to educate, share, and empower patients as they navigate healthcare.
MarlaJan won the 2014 WEGO Health Hilarious Health Activist Award, and from there, her work has snowballed into what it is today. She is a two-time Stanford Medicine X, Healthevoices, and PCORI ePatient Scholar, she’s advocated several times on Capitol Hill, and serves as a patient advisor on a number of boards for life science and pharmaceutical companies. MarlaJan has traveled the world sharing her story and experiences, has given Keynote speeches at several conferences, participated in numerous panels, moderated roundtable discussions, and has been interviewed for both local and national publications and television shows, including The Today Show.
She continues to follow her passion in making this business of being sick more palatable for those with chronic illness to navigate with her funny, witty, no filter, no sugar-coated, pithy style.
marlajan@luckfupus.com
Instagram @marlajan
Twitter @marlajan