Kinchen and many people with scleroderma have curled fingers, and some have trouble doing daily tasks, such as eating, holding a pencil and brushing their teeth.

While the illness kills some people shortly after their diagnosis, Kinchen has managed to defy the odds and relies on his hands for his job offering chair massages to convention attendees and business people in Salt Lake City.

"I like doing it because it keeps me active and out of the house," said Kinchen, 50, of Sandy.

Kinchen's wife of eight years, Lori, 48, also is coping with the disease and has had to change her life so she can stay at home for work. A hairstylist for 30 years, Lori now is a graphic artist who specializes in scrapbooking designs.

Choice was diagnosed in 1983, Lori in 1994. Doctors told him he had less than a year to live and they told Lori she should expect to survive for five years at the most.

The couple first corresponded through a chat Web site for scleroderma sufferers and met in person at a scleroderma convention in Atlanta. They had a long-distance relationship - Choice was living in Texas - until he moved here nine years ago and the two married.

While they are doing relatively well, they have their bad days during flare-ups and need to rest. They both take Celebrex to control their pain, and Lori takes medicine to help with acid reflux.

In 2000, Choice had a heart attack that doctors attributed to his illness. He quit working as a mail carrier and enrolled at the Utah College of Massage Therapy.

Not one to give up easily, Choice pushes himself physically when he feels good, cycling, snowshoeing and hiking in the mountains, which he refers to as his "church."

Lori, once an avid golfer, tries to play when she feels OK. She gets most of her exercise playing with Maddix, her 19-month-old grandson.

"He's what's keeping us going," Lori said while holding the energetic toddler. "Grandchildren are something to live for."

Family is very important to the couple, who have five boys between them. Two still live at home but the others are grown and live close by.

Despite having scleroderma, both Choice and Lori consider themselves lucky and plan to be around for a long time.

"There are worse things to have," Choice said. "We know people who are in wheelchairs or on oxygen. I don't complain very much."

chamilton@sltrib.com

What is scleroderma?

Like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis, scleroderma is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues.

The main symptoms are fatigue; diminished lung capacity; changed skin appearance and texture, including swollen fingers and hands and tight skin around the hands, face, mouth or elsewhere; calcium deposits developing under the skin; and thickened skin patches, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

People who think they might have scleroderma should see a dermatologist, an orthopedist, a pulmonologist or a rheumatologist, depending on their symptoms.

About 300,000 people in the United States have scleroderma. There is no cure for the disease, and researchers do not know what causes it.