Grand-lupie?

When the doctors first suspected that I had lupus, they all asked if anyone in my family had lupus.  I said "no," because there was no one in my family that was diagnosed with lupus.  However, now I am realizing that not being diagnosed does not mean that they didn't have lupus.

In particular, I have been wondering if it is possible that my grandma had lupus.  She died of cancer, but I remember her dealing with joint pain, fatigue, and low blood count.  This was all before I got diagnosed with lupus, so I couldn't relate to it, but now that I think about it, it all sounds very similar.  In addition, a study has shown that patients with lupus are 15% more likely to develop cancer than the general population.

What makes lupus so difficult to diagnose is that it's symptoms are so similar to other diseases.  Is it possible that lupus was overlooked by doctors because they could just as well explain these symptoms as being caused by the cancer?  In my grandmother's day, a lot less was known about lupus, so it may not have even been something doctors would consider.  Although lupus is not necessarily hereditary, researches believe that there is some kind of genetic link that makes one more predispositioned for the disease.  Now, I'm not saying that my grandma had lupus, but I'm just thinking that it could be possible.

- a little lupie -