I have received many emails and one person wrote, “I would be interested to read what others consider as their definition of a cure?”
Fair enough.
Very simply put: Please share what a cure means to you?
Please share here on the blog and not on the FB post because it is posted in many different places. Thank you.
I am a diabetes dad
14 replies on “Define. Your Thoughts and Input Needed.”
To me, a cure is finding a way to get the islet cells working again. A functioning pancreas. No more insulin injections, pumps, etc.
An item that is small and portable that doesn’t need input from an outside source to produce a desired effect. Dexcom wireless glucose meter that is usable and also fits with any pump.
I had a look in the dictionary whilst I was thinking about this.
The word ‘cure’ asa noun is a treatment that cures a disease and the verb ‘to cure’ is defiedn as reliveing the symptoms of a diease or eliminating a disease with treatment.
That first defintion as relieving the symptoms is interesting as thats what insulin does as is what we have now.
But injecting insulin is not a cure in my eyes its a treatment, its managing the symptoms.
For me a cure is the later defintion: totally eliminating the disease. So my child has normal glycaemic control and metabolic status. No disease, no complications of the cure, no risk, no side effects, no risk, no harm.
How close will we reach to that goal and is it realistic that this cure is the finshing line. Do we have to compromise?- I think we may have to.
My personal definition of a cure is: a treatment, procedure, or medicine that will eliminate the disease itself, not just control it. Insulin, pumps, glucose monitors and the like, are NOT cures. They are nothing more than tools used to manage a disease. If you take these tools away, the disease is still there. Period. A cure means that there is no more need for these various tools, because doctors and scientists have found a away to stop it. That being said, I am grateful for the many management tools at our disposal while we wait for a REAL cure.
A “cure” to me means: no more devices or extra equipment attached to my daughter’s body 24/7, no more expensive supplies, no more needles, no more high blood sugars, no more low blood sugars, no more risk of future complications, no more needing to carry a tote bag of supplies everywhere we go, no more measuring everything she eats, and no risk of getting something worse as a result of taking anti-rejection drugs.
To me, a cure means there is no longer ANY signs of the disease at all. That means there is no longer any need to count carbs, dose for highs or lows and no reason to use the word Type one insulin dependent diabetic again. BUT any improvement in the treatment that would make it seem as though it was “cured” will be welcome in our house.
A cure means the basic characteristics of diabetes (speaking Type 1 here), meaning the ability of the body to regulate blood sugar by automatic secretion of insulin and glucagon, is reversed. If the insulin is secreted by the pancreas, the liver, or the calf muscles is not an issue.
Nor is the need for maintenance drugs, provided the dosing-calculations are infrequent (think several months through several years). So, technically, yes I would consider a treatment that requires a lifetime of immunosuppresants to be a cure; although it is not a cure that I would elect to have.
I agree with those saying no devices, supplies, medication/insulin. They are all just controlling symptoms. In an extreme disaster where people would be cut off from each other, there will be a lot of insulin-dependent individuals at risk of dying whereas others will just be inconvenienced (at different levels, of course, but not necessarily mortal danger). A cure, to me, would be not having to rely on the medical/pharmaceutical industry AT ALL.
a cure is my son being able to go wherever he wants, and do whatever he wants without the fear of going into a coma because his blood sugars were too low, or being totally out of control because they were too high. Not carrying a special bag with him full of treatments. Being able to go on school trips without a nurse or a parent with him. To eat how much he feels like, whenever he feels like and not to count cards all day long. No more waking up in the middle of the night to grab a juice because your number is too low. Just to be a kid like his brother and sister. That would be wonderful. No more worrying!!!!
Cure i want my kid to function as he did prior to dx. No insulin injections no hi no low no.needles no juice. Make those damn islet cells the pancreas work again!
Totally agree!
A life without numbers that set the rules… Freedom and good health for our kids ..
A cure means the disease is gone, the pancreas is doing it’s job, and we never think about diabetes again. It would most likely be physiological, not electronic, though, to my thinking, maybe a long-term implant along the lines of a pacemaker would count.
I imagine the heart of the question is whether an artificial pancreas with an external cgm and pump which communicate with eachother would be considered a cure. If that’s the next step, I imagine my daughter will gladly wear it, but it’ll still be a treatment for the disease, not a cure.
A cure to us means living exactly like he did before he started having Type 1 Diabetes. It means a fully functional pancreas the way it should be.
A cure means we understand the cause clearly. It’s only clear understanding of the causes of western diseases that will unite all parties in the worlds of medicine, nutrition, and food supply. Many of us think we know, but nobody can demonstrate it. The lack of concensus and the wrong choices we’ve made over the last decades are devastating the western world’s health. A cure would go a long way to addressing many issues — Ocam’s Razor!