Executive Director’s Report
Daniel Mulloy | CEO and Executive Director, ARTA
Don’t Sugarcoat It:
I’m a Diabetic
November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, a time when communities
across the country team up to bring attention to diabetes and its impact on
millions of Canadians.
Diabetes is a personal crisis for
people living with the disease and
for their families. Diabetes is also
a fi nancial crisis for our health
care system. It is consuming an
ever-larger share of provincial
and territorial health care
budgets and will force an
increase in those expenditures.
The direct cost of diabetes
now accounts for about 3.5
per cent of public health care
spending in Canada. This share
is likely to continue rising given
the expected increase in the
number of people living with
diabetes in Canada.
The number of Canadians
with diabetes has doubled
in the past twelve years and
the escalation continues with
a new diagnosis every three
minutes. Some of that growth
cannot be changed — it refl ects
improved survival, genetic,
and demographic factors, as
well as type 1 diabetes, which is
not preventable. But an equal
portion of the growth is because
of new cases of type 2 diabetes,
which can often be prevented
or delayed. Addressing the
need to reverse this growth and
ensure a healthy public can be
accomplished primarily through
changes in policy and with
better education.
ARTA is trying to help its
members counteract that trend
by giving them the tools they
need either to help manage
diabetes (if they have already
been diagnosed) or to help
people who are at risk keep the
disease at bay. The way we are
doing this is through education.
In November, we sent out
a diabetes handbook to every
ARTA member to help highlight
some essential information.
Topics that are outlined
include what diabetes is, how
to mitigate your risk, and how
to live with diabetes. Included
are some great diabetic-friendly
recipes and resources.We hope
that this handbook will assist
those members who live with
the disease, who are at risk
of becoming diabetic, or who
have family members with the
disease.
While living with diabetes is
not fun, if it is well managed, it
need not control your life but is
controlled while you live your
life. As a type 1 diabetic myself,
I know that living well with
diabetes is possible; my greatest
hope is that the information we
share will allow you to make
wise decisions and seek the
advice you need to best control
diabetes in your life. ●
news&views WINTER 2018 | 7