Chatelaine_April_May_2019

PERSONALHEALTHNEWS.CA A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET

Mediaplanet sat down with Kimberley Hanson, Executive Director of

Federal Affairs at Diabetes Canada and one of the 300,000 Canadians

living with type 1 diabetes, to discuss her personal experience with the

disease and the need for a national diabetes strategy in Canada.

Mediaplanet Tell u s about your

experience with diabetes.

Kimberley Hanson I developed type 1

diabetes when I was 20. I went to my doctor

and told him that I thought I had diabetes

— I was really thirsty, had lost weight that

I couldn’t explain, was going to the bath-

room all the time, and have a

family history of the disease.

He told me that I did not have

diabetes and, in fact, accused

me of being anorexic. I left

his office and got sicker and

sicker for the next two years,

wondering what was wrong

with me. It took them until I

was 22 to finally figure it out,

at which point I was very ill.

My first reaction when I received the

diagnosis was, oddly, relief. I had been sick

for so long and was relieved to finally have

a name to put to it. Immediately follow-

ing, I felt scared, and then soon after that,

angry — angry that I had gone unnecessar-

ily undiagnosed and untreated for so long.

With autoimmune diseases becoming more

common, it’s so important that people advo-

cate for themselves and fight for an accurate

and timely diagnosis.

MP What’s the difference between type 1

diabetes and type 2 diabetes?

KH Type 2 is much more common. Between

90 to 95 percent of the five million Canadi-

ans who have diabetes live with type 2. It’s

caused by a multitude of factors, including

ethnicity, environmental factors, and in

some cases, lifestyle behaviours.

Type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, is an

autoimmune disease. It’s sometimes clus-

tered in families but it’s a lot more random

in its appearance. It’s a quirk of the immune

system.

MP How have advancements in medical

technology helped you manage your diabetes?

KH I’ve worn an insulin pump 24 hours a

day for 23 years now, which gives me in-

sulin every few minutes. I also now wear

a continuous glucose monitor, which is a

device that checks my blood sugar levels

every few minutes and transmits the data

to my phone. It can warn me when my

blood sugar is getting dangerously low or

dangerously high so that I can take imme-

diate action and preserve my health.

I’m very fortunate that I’ve had the ability

to manage my diabetes well, but we need to

do more in Canada to make technologies like

insulin pumps and continuous glucose mon-

itors available to the Canadians

who need them.

MP What do you see as the next

greatest challenge in treating

diabetes in Canada?

KH We have to recognize that

type 1 diabetes and other au-

toimmune diseases are on the

rise in Canada for reasons we

don’t fully understand. Part of

making sure that Canada has the resourc-

es and the strategies to take action and to

measure the effect of those actions means

we need to embrace a nationwide strategy

to address the epidemic.

Diabetes Canada has brought the diabetes

community together to develop a plan that

does just that. Diabetes 360°, as it’s called,

contains recommendations for people in the

broader populations w it h al l t y pes of diabetes.

We have to recognize that type 1 diabetes and

other autoimmune diseases are on the rise in

Canada for reasons we don’t fully understand.

“

“

Kimberley Hanson

Executive Director, Federal Affairs,

Diabetes Canada

Demystifying Diabetes

Q&A with Kimberley Hanson

To learn more about the Diabetes

360° strategy and what you can do

to help, visit diabetes.ca/strategy.

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