285 million people globally affected by diabetes
Published Tuesday November 24th, 2009
By 2010, more than 3 million Canadians will live with disease
Canadians Dr. Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best co-discovered insulin in 1921, forever changing the lives of diabetics around the world.
In 1923 Banting received the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Banting shared the award money with his colleague, Dr. Charles Best. Recognizing the importance of his work, the Canadian government gave him a lifetime annuity to fund his research. In 1934 King George V bestowed a knighthood on him, making him Sir Frederick Banting.
By 2010, more than 3 million Canadians will live with diabetes. Globally, more than 285 million people are affected by the disease and it is expected that 380 million will be affected by 2025.
Phoebe MacPherson has been managing her diabetes since 1987. "One morning I just woke up and felt really strange," remembers Phoebe, "My Husband Alistair said I was not looking so good and we went off to the hospital. After some tests, they told me I had diabetes."
"I guess I was shocked when I found out," says Phoebe, "I was the daughter who did not eat the sweets. My sister would eat a pound of candy and bottles of pop, and she never had it."
In Phoebe's case, it probably had more to do with family history, than diet.
"My mother had it, my father had it, and my mother had a sister who died from it. It certainly runs in our family," she admits.
The Canadian Diabetes Association is working hard to raise awareness about the disease and both management and prevention of it.
"We help lead the fight against diabetes trying to help people live their lives while working to find a cure," says Sherry Calder, manager of marketing and communications for the Atlantic region of the Canadian Diabetes Association.
"We work closely with health-care teams but also a lot of volunteers," she says. "People turn to us, mostly for education.
"We just held an event in Bathurst, in conjunction with the Joslin Diabetes Centre. There was about a hundred people there. We do a lot of free events with experts where people can come learn about a different aspect of the disease like nutrition, foot care, or medications."
So what is diabetes? It is a chronic disease where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin, the hormone that Banting and Best discovered, is what allows the body to take sugar (glucose) out of the blood and use it as energy.
It is a serious disease and, if left untreated or improperly managed, diabetes can result in a variety of complications including blindness, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and limb amputation.
However, with proper diabetes management, its complications can be prevented or delayed.
"I don't really think it changed my life that much. I just knew I had to deal with it," says Phoebe.
"The doctor near scared the life out of me this fall though. All summer I ate what I wanted to and my blood sugar went way up, and when I went to him he said, "You could be dead, you could be blind, you could be on dialysis: and that really, really scared me.
"I never realized, I probably knew, but just thought it would never catch me, but all of a sudden there it is. It did scare me so I have been a good girl ever since."
There are three main types of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is the one that you are born with. About 10 per cent of people with diabetes have this type.
What happens is that the body's immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Everyone who had this disease is dependant on injected or pumped insulin for life. It has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle, and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent it.
The remaining 90 per cent have Type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body does not effectively use the insulin that is produced. Type 2 diabetes usually develops in adulthood, although increasing numbers of children are being diagnosed.
A third type of diabetes, gestational diabetes, is a temporary condition that occurs during pregnancy. It affects approximately 3.7 per cent of all pregnancies and could possibly lead to an increased risk of developing diabetes for both mother and child.
No matter what type of diabetes you have, Insulin is not a cure, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, amputation, and pregnancy complications.
"I am on medication now," says Phoebe, "I would say I have been on it for the last five years. It just controls it better, if I eat something I am not supposed to, the blood sugar will go up but, by taking the pill, it takes to back down."
"November is diabetes awareness month," says Sherry. "And diabetes is increasing everywhere. Here in Atlantic Canada we have high rates of obesity, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes, but age and race is also a factor, If you are over 40, are African, Asian, Aboriginal or Hispanic, you might be at a higher risk."
The Canadian Diabetes Association also has a program called "Canadian Diabetes Champions." Through the website www.worlddiabetes.ca, people can write about their heroes, or people who are living well while coping with their own or another's diabetes.
"We have over 1,000 diabetes champions in New Brunswick alone," says Sherry. "If you think about the numbers, over 3 million people with diabetes, and then the families who are affected, it is a huge number of people. We hope to encourage and inspire people to share their story."
"I love learning about all the great things people are doing to raise awareness about diabetes across Canada," says Deborah Sissmore, a Canadian Diabetes Champion. "It reminds you that you are part of a larger community that is committed to finding a cure. I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to share my story and celebrate the diabetes champions in my life."
Being aware and being healthy are the two best things that you can do if you have diabetes. World Diabetes Day is an opportunity for the rest of us to learn more about both the disease and how we can help those who have it.
"When you are in control and living healthily it really does make a difference, you feel healthier and happier. Even with diabetes you really can enjoy life; although I do miss the sweets," jokes Phoebe.
Disabled
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
Comments (1)
All comments are subject to the site Terms of Use. For a full commenting tutorial click here.
Our editorial team relies on filtering technology and our visitor community to identify inappropriate comments. In the event that a site user has submitted offensive content that has evaded our filter, please select the option to Flag As Inappropriate presented within the comment. Thank you for helping to keep this site clean.