ASK THE PHYSICIAN
Jenine Vecchio, MD, FACE
Attending Endocrinologist
Deborah Specialty Physicians Diabetes Center
Q: My brother’s doctor just told him he has dia-
betes and that he has to lose some of his belly and
watch what he eats – but what’s the big deal about it? You see
commercials about drugs for diabetes and hear a lot of bad stuff
about it, but he looks and sounds just the same as ever!
– Mike O., Voorhees
the that
Physician
A: Mike, you’ve asked a Ask
question
I hear from many patients
who have been recently diagnosed with this condition. Type 2
diabetes is a chronic disease resulting in too much sugar in the
blood, or “high blood glucose.” People with type 2 diabetes make
insulin – which helps your cells turn glucose from the food you
eat into energy – but their cells don’t use it as well as they should,
which is called insulin resistance.
Type 2 diabetes really is a big deal which, without proper med-
ical treatment and consistent monitoring, can lead to serious
health issues, such as:
•
Heart attack
• Stroke
• Blindness
•
Kidney failure
•
Loss of toes, feet or legs
If your brother lives in the area, I would be more than happy
to see him; just contact the Deborah Specialty Physicians Dia-
betes Center office at 212 Trenton Road in Browns Mills at 609-
621-2075.
For an appointment or more information about how Deborah
Heart and Lung Center’s leading-edge technologies can improve
your quality of life, call 800-555-1990 or request info/an appoint-
ment by visiting www.demanddeborah.org.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ MAY 2018 91