The Canadian Diabetes Association says erasing the stigma associated with the disease will help in the battle to find a cure, and they have created a new campaign called “End Diabetes” to do just that.
The campaign’s new website features a video of real victims of the disease using their own words to describe what it is like to have diabetes.
Saskatchewan-based Diabetes Association spokeswoman Brie Hnetka says there is a lot of shame, blame and pain, adding that the video gives people a real insight into what life is like for the victims.
“It is a pretty emotional video I think and it kind of outlines exactly how diabetes is different,” she said.
“It’s 24/7 that people have to deal with it and you never get a break or any kind of relief.”
The video can be found at www.enddiabetes.ca.
An estimated 100,000 people have diabetes in Saskatchewan, with the rates disproportionately higher in the Aboriginal community.
The study also found the onset of the disease was about 25 years earlier in the First Nations community.