Novartis announced that Grammy, Tony and Emmy award-winning singer, songwriter, actress and activist Cyndi Lauper has released a new song, Hope, in honor of World Psoriasis Day. Inspired by psoriasis patients and Lauper's own experience living with the disease, Hope is part of the SEE ME campaign, an initiative that celebrates patients' success stories and encourages others living with plaque psoriasis to seek ways to get back to doing the things they want to do.

"I have met many people living with psoriasis and drew inspiration for the song from their stories of struggle, courage, perseverance and hope," said Lauper. "I know first-hand the impact psoriasis can have and my goal is to give a voice to the millions of Americans who may struggle with their psoriasis. We don't need to hide, and we don't need to feel embarrassed."

An estimated 7.5 million Americans are affected by psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory condition which is considered the most common autoimmune disease in the U.S. Like many patients, Lauper hid her psoriasis and struggled for many years to find a treatment that worked for her. Now, she is sharing her story to demonstrate the impact that plaque psoriasis has had on her life, and why she saw a dermatologist and made the decision to start treatment with Cosentyx (secukinumab), the first IL-17A antagonist approved to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

"Plaque psoriasis symptoms like flaking, scaling and bleeding can have a significant impact on a patient's daily life," said Dr. Jeffrey Weinberg, Associate Clinical Professor, Dermatology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City and Lauper's personal dermatologist. "I encourage all people with psoriasis to speak with a dermatologist who specializes in the disease to find a treatment plan that works for them."

"It took me a long time to get to where I am today, but I made it—and so can others who are struggling with psoriasis," said Lauper.

The song and music video for Hope are available to stream on the SEE ME campaign microsite, SEEMEtoknow.com. Additional content includes webisodes featuring Cyndi Lauper and other patients providing a more in-depth look at life with psoriasis.

Cyndi Lauper is a Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning artist with over 30 sterling years and global record sales in excess of 50 million albums. With her first album, She's So Unusual, Lauper won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and became the first female in history to have four top-five singles from a debut album. Since then, Lauper has released ten additional studio albums, been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and celebrated as a New York Timesbest-selling author. Overall, during her storied music career, Lauper has been nominated for 15 Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, seven American Video Awards and 18 MTV Awards. In 2013, Cyndi Lauper became the first solo woman to win Best original score for her music and lyrics for Kinky Boots. Next, she'll write the score for the Broadway adaptation of the 1988 feature film Working Girl, contribute a song to the score of the Broadway musical Spongebob Squarepants and launch her own fashion line with Home Shopping Network.