Read more at healthinsight.ca
A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET
PHOTO CREDIT: TINA TURNBOW
Managing Diabetes
LEA DELARIA —
Despite Diabetes, the Show Must Go On Nothing stops comedian, actress, and jazz musician Lea DeLaria — not even type 2 diabetes. We spoke to the Orange Is the New Black star about how her life has changed following her diagnosis and how she balances her diabetes journey and career in show business.
How has diabetes affected your life, both personally and professionally? It has affected my life incredibly in both aspects. I’m in show business and have been my entire life, so I’m used to a certain lifestyle of partying, staying up late, hanging out, sleeping during the day — all that stuff. Once I was diagnosed with diabetes, I knew I had to make a change in my diet, my drinking habits, and my exercise regime. It really made a huge difference. But as a result, I lost 50 pounds, which is great for one’s health.
It was a wake-up call for me to be told I was diabetic.
Is there a part of your diabetes journey that has been particularly triumphant? About two years ago, I got my A1C [a test depicting average level of blood sugar over the past two to three months] to 5.8 and I’ve hovered around 5.9 to 5.6 ever since. To me that feels very triumphant. I have the blood sugar of a normal person and that means a lot to me. Taking care of my body, my health, my work, and my life — I feel like I’ve really gone for it and done well.
If you could give one message to Canadians living with diabetes, what would it be? More than anything, I want to say: you can do this. You don’t have to lose a leg, you don’t have to lose an eye, you don’t have to lose your life. You can do this. You can be healthier and happier. It’s not as hard as you think — you’re stronger than the disease.
Every Action Makes a Difference This Diabetes Awareness Month We all play a role in ending diabetes. No matter how big or small, every action makes a difference. Diabetes Canada
N
ovember is Diabetes Awareness Month and a time to shine a light on a disease that affects close to 11.5 million Canadians. It’s also a time to highlight the incredible, inspiring, and hopeful actions being taken by individuals, communities, governments, and organizations that help end diabetes. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the revolutionary Canadian discovery of insulin. But insulin is not a cure, and we can’t wait another 100 years to end diabetes. Building on the legacy of the co-discoverers of insulin (Banting, Best, Collip, and Macleod), and the incredible work of current Canadian
researchers and clinicians, Diabetes Canada is urging Canadians from coast to coast to take action to end diabetes. When we think of ending diabetes, we automatically think of a medical or scientific breakthrough. However, we end diabetes when we ensure that people living with the disease have access to the medications, devices, and supplies they need to live well, when we end the stigma associated with having diabetes and make people feel fully included in society, when we end the burden of having to test blood sugars 14 times per day, and when it no longer represents a 11-to 15-year loss of life expectancy.
What do you want the public to know about diabetes? In society, they shame people with diabetes and will say, “All you have to do is control your eating habits.” People end up having terrible misconceptions about the disease. People out there who are shaming people with diabetes, please stop doing that. We’re all doing the best we can with what we’re given and the cards that we’ve been dealt.
To learn more about DeLaria’s diabetes journey, read the full Q&A on healthinsight.ca.
There are many ways to get involved in this year’s November campaign. And every action, no matter how big or small, makes a difference. Whether it’s helping to dispel myths associated with diabetes, donating to support research and programming, attending a free diabetes webinar, speaking up with elected officials to improve access to medications, supplies, and devices, or even ensuring that you see your health care provider, every action matters. It’s the collection of actions from across the entire diabetes community that will help drive progress and improve the quality of life of those affected by diabetes. Throughout November, Diabetes Canada is aiming to achieve 100,000 actions to help end diabetes. Help reach 100,000 actions to end diabetes this November. Take action now and share it on diabetes.ca/takeaction.
Strategic Account Manager: Madison Trajkovski Strategic Account Director: Jessica Golyatov Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content & Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designer: Kylie Armishaw Content & Web Editor: Karthik Talwar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve Maclean’s magazine or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.
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