I too was told that there would be a cure in 10 years, when I was diagnosed with Type 1 in 1996. It has been 14. In today's health section of the New York Times this essay (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/health/20essay.html?ref=health) chronicles the steps made, both forwards and backwards, in the hunt for a cure for diabetes and the many times that the author has been led to believe that there was hope on the horizon. I have to admit that there have been many improvements in the way we treat diabetes since I was diagnosed. Insulin pens, pumps, and now continuous blood glucose monitoring systems with the hope of an artificial pancreas in the near future. I have taken advantage of these advancements and they have improved my quality of life. However, I have to admit that I don't have a strong sense of assuredness when it comes to finding a cure. But that doesn't mean that I stop hoping for one.
IMHO, belittling the prospect for a cure is somewhat a survival mechanism.
T1 diabetics who really do believe the cure is right around the corner or at the very least pin all their hopes on the cure, maybe don’t bother to take care of themselves.
T1 diabetics who are pessimistic about a cure instead have to concentrate on treatment and good bg control.
BTW, when I was diagnosed 30 years ago, they told me the cure was 5 years away 
Tim.
Great advancements! I took Type 1 in 73 and also heard the saying that a “cure” was only 10 years away then. My daughter took Type 1 in 99 with the same saying then too. Love the way things have advanced. Maybe that “cure” in now in the near future. I thought I had the “cure” about 15 years ago. Went through the pancres transplant did live diabetic free for 2 years but took all that med and stayed in the hospital waaaaaay too much. After 7 different rejection episodes rejected took diabetes all over again and have pretty much made myself happy. Sometimes the “cure” is worse than the diease. Or atleast that’s the way I feel about that part of it.
The word cure makes me want to drop dead. Don’t hold your breath. I don’t mean to be cruel, but why would medicine want to cure us? It makes too much money off us.
Maybe our CURE is to stop being dependent on the system, the cure will always be just around the corner and we will always believe that if we could just afford this one thing then we could finally be happy…well, it doesn’t work!
that is why i think a cure will not come from big pharma but from a university or some other country beside the US.
I still want one too.
Me too, a cure for everybody here.
I, as a Canadian keep staying focused on the Canadian Diabetes Association’s mission . And… the researchers are working hard at it !!
I do not believe in a cure. I will not wait for one. I will not waste my time by longing for something I can not reach. I deal with the cards I have been dealt - actually a good hand if you ask me.
Will they find a cure in my lifetime (as promised?)-- probably not. Will we hopefully find a cure in all of the lifetime of all the CHILDREN out there… HOPEFULLY.
I hope for a cure like anyone else but I worry that if one is found it will be hidden by Big Pharma - pharma companies have bought up technologies discovered in other countries than the US and by unis before that looked promising for it never to be heard of again. Just worries me. I pray I’m wrong every day.
My mom, Diagnosed at 8 months old, always said she thought there would not be a cure in her lifetime ( I was D’xed at 9 months old), but hoped there would be one in mine. I now have 2 girls, both D’xed at < 12 months old, and I hope they will live to see a cure. When my 20 year old was first D’xed, her ped endo said he believed that a non invasive BG meter was about 5 years out. They were only off by about 17 years.
There’s an aweful lot of money being made in D, I really do wonder if there is a cure someplace on the horizon. I hope so, just wish they would be honest about it and stop talking about 10 years. I remember the 80’s, I was in HS and college. . . That was supposed to be the decade of the cure : (
Wow Jacky - we think alike in the money bit in diabetes, and hoping the medical researchers aren’t hiding the fact that diabetes can be cured. Because I help alot of young diabetics cope with diabetes - I always hope that there will be cure - their parents are very passionate as well about finding a cure - as they see their young child go thru’ what many of us have lived with since a young age (I was just turning 7 when I got diagnosed). For me, and I’m sure with others diagnosed at a young age, we have managed fine with having a good life, despite the ups/downs of managing our diabetes. Having known a few friends whose children have died of cancer, makes me feel guilty, they fought a hard battle, and are now gone from our big blue marble … I am still here.
As someone who works in medical research we tend to be fairly altruistic people. Yes, the funding is needed to continue researching, but we are honestly trying to find answers…are there are always going to be things that need answers. I would be more worried about large pharmaceutical companies that are doing “research” since they have more to lose if a condition is eradicated.
Anna, one of the most memorable conversations of my life happened when I was in the hospital with my younger child after she had been D’xed. I was trying to get some lidacaine cream for them to use when they needed to draw blood rather than having my 11 month old so traumatized (she was a fighter, my older daughter hardly ever fought us for blood draws). I struck up a conversation with with a mother in the parents lounge, and we both wondered why nurses were not allowed to use lidocaine numbing cream. Then we starting talking about why our kids needed it, Her daughter was apparently having issues with her port for her chemo treatments, and it was causing her a lot of pain. Her daughter, about age 10, came and played with my daughter a few times. . . I’m not sure she made it.
That was super sobering. I felt almost guilty for whining about the lack of the cream for my daughter. With my older daughter, the little baby on the breathing tube that choked and cried all night, and his parents were never around. . . I am blessed, my kids, with a bit of care and caution, are going to be around to see many more years, with, or without a cure I hope.
Check out this website to read about Dr.Faustman’s research at Massachusetts General Hospital: www.faustamanlab.org I am a blood donor in the Phase II stage, and just returned form Boston for a blood draw. I anticipate that the Phase III treatment level will lead to positive results. Her efforts are still in need of money in the 5 million dollar range…
But I trruly believe that her efforts will be rewarded and that I , even at 55, will benefir from this reseach in MY LIFETIME>
God Bless,
Brunetta
There is always room for HOPE. Keeping this hope for a cure is part of what helps me through the many testings and injections I do during a day, not to mention being aware of what I eat and doing some form of exercise. Even if I never see a cure, I pray it will come for my grandchildren who may be diagnosed with Type 1 D.
There may be many pharma who want to make money - but dont forget there are also many scientists who know T1D close to heart and are looking to cure this. Not everyone is bad. I truly believe that this is the age of social awareness and accelerated advancements in technology and medicine. If we remain a pessimists now when cure is more probable than ever ( all of you who equate 80s to 21st century please wake up- world has made so many advancements) - we are only being seeing the half empty side.
Cure is around and this is the time to energize the patients and families to act.
I thought about this right today!
I never wanted to think about a cure a lot because I thuoght it would keep me from accepting my diabetes.
But I discovered that hoping for a cure is important to me because then, I can understand why I’m angry with my diabetes again and again. I don’t need to see it as “normal”. It’s a challenge everyday, and I don’t need to expect from me that I don’t want to get rid of it! 