LE&RN Spokesperson Kathy Bates begins her story in the latest issue of A Wellness Update by telling readers, "I have lymphedema and I'm mad as hell."

The Academy Award-winning actress is the subject of a full-length feature article in which she talks openly about her battle with lymphedema and her increasing activism on behalf of herself and other patients. The more people Kathy met who were suffering, the article explains, the more passionate she became.

The article devotes a good deal of space to the fellow patients Kathy has met through LE&RN, people like Marie Apodaca, Pearl-Ann Hinds, and Emma Detlefsen. Writer and editor Bonnie Jean Thomas delves into the lack of education and lack of funding for lymphatic diseases as well. Articles like this will have a lot to do with changing that.