MarlaJan Wexler

MarlaJan Wexler is a pediatric nurse, patient living with multiple chronic illnesses, and a patient advocate. In her 39 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 step down from her nursing career in 2012 when lupus began attacking major organs.

In an effort to still make a difference while out of work, Wexler 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.

Wexler 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. Wexler 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.

Of note in 2020, Wexler has been a featured speaker at virtual conferences for Bristol Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Astra Zeneca, and 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.