Health Matters - Apple Magazine Health Matters Winter 2018 | Page 2

Your Health Matters Health Matters is published by Calgary and area Primary Care Networks (PCNs) to give you information about the programs, services and health teams available to you through your family doctor. PCNs in the Calgary area were established about 10 years ago to provide people with health services and programs through their family physicians. Today, PCNs work with teams of other health professional as well as offer programs such as Prescription to Get Active and Find-a-Doctor. The publication team behind this issue of Health Matters is: Keith Bradford, Terry Bullick, Bart Goemans, Lynda Harrison, Jessica Hone, Cory Leyte, Melissa Ligertwood, Dr. Christine Luelo, Janine Poersch, Colleen Seto, Chrissie Worth Contributors: Trudie Lee Harder, Melissa Ligertwood, Jimi Scherer, Colleen Seto, Neil Zeller Cover photo of Darcy Graham and Charles Voll by Trudie Lee Harder We appreciate your feedback and article suggestions. Contact our editorial team at [email protected]. To find your PCN, visit mypcn.ca › Bow Valley Primary Care Network › Calgary West Central Primary Care Network › Calgary Foothills Primary Care Network › Highland Primary Care Network › Mosaic Primary Care Network › Calgary Rural Primary Care Network › South Calgary Primary Care Network TWO HEALTH MATTERS WINTER 2018 Dr. Jane Ballantine, the medical director of the Calgary West Central Primary Care Network, takes a special interest in helping diabetes patients manage the disease. Diabetes is common in Canada, yet few of us know much about it. This chronic disease robs the body of its ability to control blood sugar (glucose) levels, either because it cannot produce insulin or cannot properly use the insulin it produces. Without insulin, sugar builds up in the blood instead of being used as energy. Over time, this damages organs, blood vessels and nerves. A report by Diabetes Canada in 2015 found the number of people with diabetes more than doubled between 2000 and 2015 to an estimated 8.9 per cent (3.34 million) of Canadians, leading to $3 billion in direct healthcare costs. Some one million Canadians have diabetes and don’t know it. Even more people are at risk of developing diabetes. In the next 10 years, both the rate and healthcare costs of diabetes are projected to grow by more than 40 per cent. Anyone can get diabetes, but not everyone will and for many people, diabetes can be prevented. Types of diabetes With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas loses its ability to make insulin and this is life-threatening. “Essentially, the pancreas doesn’t work so Type 1 must be treated with insulin,” says Diabetes can be prevented & treated