TORONTO, Ont. (Nov. 1, 2021) – This November during Diabetes Awareness Month, Diabetes Canada is urging Canadians to take action to help end diabetes.
Diabetes Awareness Month is a time when individuals, community groups, organizations, and people around the world team up to bring attention to diabetes. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Canadian, life-saving discovery of insulin. But it isn’t a cure. To honour the legacy of Drs. Banting, Best, Collip and Macleod—the discoverers of insulin—Diabetes Canada is urging Canadians to take action so we don’t have to wait another 100 years to end diabetes.
“Since the discovery of insulin, there have been huge strides and key advances in mapping and understanding diabetes and its complications, but there is still no cure,” says Laura Syron, President and CEO of Diabetes Canada. “Our Diabetes Awareness Month campaign highlights that collective, individual action will continue to drive progress and move us forward to ending diabetes. Every action, no matter how big or small, brings us closer to a future without this disease.”
Even after 100 years of insulin, one in three Canadians live with diabetes or prediabetes. And one in two Canadians at age 20 have a chance of developing it in their lifetime. We can end diabetes by helping dispel myths associated with diabetes, donating towards diabetes research, advocating for improved access to medications, devices and supplies, increasing education to enhance learning about diabetes management, and much more.
“After my recent diagnosis, I was stunned to learn how much we think we know about diabetes is actually based on misconceptions,” says Emily Brass, host of the new CBC podcast Type Taboo: Diary of a New Diabetic, launching November 15. “We need to take a hard look at the realities of diabetes and smash the hurtful stereotypes that keep so many Canadians silent about this serious disease.”
All those visiting diabetes.ca/takeaction can upload a photo with a brief description of how they are helping end diabetes from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30. The mosaic will build over the course of the month of November, adding to the overall goal of showcasing 100,000 actions from across the country.
*Inclusive of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
About Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease in which your body either can't produce insulin or can't properly use the insulin it produces. It is a complex disease with multiple causes and no known cure.
- Type 1 diabetes is found in five to 10 per cent of Canadians with diabetes and occurs when the body is unable to produce insulin, a hormone that controls the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood.
- Type 2 diabetes is the most common, where the pancreas either cannot effectively use or produce enough insulin. It is found in approximately 90-95 per cent of Canadians living with diabetes. The causes of type 2 diabetes can be genetic, behavioural and/or environmental. People of Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic or African descent are at higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Prediabetes occurs when an individual’s blood glucose levels are high, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 50 per cent of those with prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes.
About Diabetes Canada
Diabetes Canada is the registered national charitable organization that is making the invisible epidemic of diabetes visible and urgent. Diabetes Canada partners with Canadians to End Diabetes through:
- Resources for health-care professionals on best practices to care for people with diabetes;
- Advocacy to governments, schools and workplaces; and
- Funding world-leading Canadian research to improve treatments and find a cure.
For more information, visit diabetes.ca or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464).