For those who don't think we desperately need a cure check this out....http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20572900,00.html
Sad!
Sad, but lots of people try to commit suicide for all sorts of reasons. I don't see how this is necessarily a direct result of his diabetes. There are so many people walking around with conditions just as scary as diabetes - cancer, MS, progressive debilitating diseases with no treatments. Do I like diabetes? Absolutely not! There are days where it scares me to my very core. BUT, I am so thankful that I have a treatment (insulin) that wasn't even around 90 years ago. My grandmother had two siblings who died from T1 diabetes at the ages of 5 and 7. They died because they were diagnosed before insulin was available. There are still children and adults throughout the world who die from T1 simply because they don't have access to insulin.
Yeah, D stinks and it's scary and it's a lot of work and it can be REALLY expensive. But I am so thankful that, in all my years, I've never had to worry about being unable to walk into a pharmacy, plunk down a credit card (or have my parents do it), and get a vial of the stuff that keeps me alive. I guess when I think about it that way, diabetes doesn't seem to scary after all.
If your read the comments section you'd see that this man had already had a leg amputated from the diabetes. Most likely he figured it was only a matter of time before the disease did him in hence the suicide attempt. In general I don't sit and dwell on the complications because I am too busy fighting the sugar swings. However if I had to deal with any of the secondary comps I'd clearly want to end my own life. It's bad enough just trying to get a grip on managing the disease but starting to loose body parts is the icing on the cake. It burns my soul just thinking there are organizations because they make money off us would rather see human suffering continue just because of profit. Of course no one would ever admit that but I think its pretty safe to say we know that is likely the case. The fact is human trials are going on world wide and some lucky people are getting relief from some treatment or another. Nothing right now is a cure but for the safety of my own future I feel I have to be at the forefront of the first breakthrough to have a chance at long term survival with quality to my life.
The problem is Gary, that this actor is older and, while people will see that it is a sad situation, they will also believe that he is to blame for his problem. As long as this "blame the victim" mentality persists in the media, the general public will be able to look the other way.
Without knowing how he managed the disease so you really can't put the blame on him. Statistics show that many uncontrolled diabetics stay relatively complication free while others who really stayed on top of it unfortunately had the wrong genetics. Either way the way I see it this man's life was destroyed likely from diabetes. We seriously need a cure and no more band aids.. Thank you JDRF. We are all a box of donuts or a few extra units away from death.
Sorry Gary, I was just saying that I expect that is the way his situation will probably be perceived and it really makes me angry!! I wish those collecting money for the cure would put those blue candles out there and show the faces.
This is a sad story. I have known several people who have lost limbs due to D. It seems like after this takes place there life becomes shortened in a hurry.
Loss of limb, loss of eye sight, and loss of kidney function scare me the most about this disease. One day I hope there will be a cure.
Diabetes is a lot more dangerous and serious then most people think. Then again its not the average person that will have anything to do with a cure. When someone from big pharma sees a story like this while their driving their porshe to work because of all the sticks and or diabetes supplies they sold they should feel as guilty as OJ Simpson should for killing his wife. I'm not saying Big Pharma is the only to blame but keeping us tied to today's treatments is like committing murder as far as I am concerned so whomever is behind it needs to be eliminated. I'm ok if the science is just not there yet but I think there is more to it then that.
I disagree with the theory that "big pharma" doesn't stand to gain anything from a "Cure". If they "cure" people with diabetes of either sort now, there's still an endless supply of newbies in the future as I don't believe I've heard anything about modifying *everyone* to get rid of the genetic roots. To me, the potential for "curing" a disease that will never actually be cured, like say TB (ok, there's the weaponized strains lurking in the former USSR...) or the Black Death (ok, it's still out there but not quite the same as 30-40% of the population of Europe...), seems like an enormous potential gold mine, if the product is priced correctly. As I'm sure it would be.
The general opinion by the medical community for decades now has been diabetes is curable. I remember back in 2000 I was a member of Deb Butterfields diabetes forum. I can't remember the name? Anyway there was an article published shortly after the Edmonton protocol surfaced about what it would be like being diagnosed with diabetes in the year 2010. The way the article was written was it suggested that being diagnosed with diabetes in the year 2010 would be nothing more then a medical inconvenience that will be treated through transplantation as a standard procedure. I was thinking to myself could I hold out another ten years living like this? Well guess what its two years past 2010 and still nothing. When I say nothing, I mean nothing available for the diabetic community as an option. Many of the companies have learned quite a bit and I believe some are poised to offer a temporary solution but the problem is about getting approval. If we had no FDA we'd be a hell of a lot closer. I understand they need to be sure a procedure is safe but for Christ sakes diabetes is anything but safe. As far as the price of a treatment it would have to be feasible for the company supplying it and at the same time for the diabetic population. I would find it extremely unethical to see only people with utter wealth or fantastic insurance being able to benefit from a potential treatment. As I said this ain't no head cold its a monster of a disease that no one should have to continue living with if there was another option. If you take the example of Dr Faustman's, BCG she quoted that she couldn't get support from and Big Pharma which admitted to her that her treatment was not profitable for them to support. Well isn't that dandy because they can't make a boat load of money they have no interest in helping the suffering. What kind of answer is that? If someone was was drowning in the ocean would potential help say eh let em drown, I can't make any money saving them. Indirectly its the same thing.