BC Podiatric Medical Association Supports Canadian Diabetes Association’s ‘Get Checked Now’
Vancouver, BC (July 22, 2011) – ‘Get Checked Now,’ the Canadian Diabetes Association’s national public awareness campaign to help combat type 2 diabetes, was recently applauded by the BC Podiatric Medical Association (formerly the BC Association of Podiatrists).
“We applaud the Canadian Diabetes Association’s efforts in raising awareness of diabetes and how it can detrimentally affect those that have the disease, whether they know it or not. As our profession deals primarily with the foot, the area of diabetic peripheral neuropathy plays an especially important role in our patients,” said Greg Laakmann, President of the BC Podiatric Medical Association.
According to a recent Environics public opinion poll commissioned by the Association, 43 per cent of Canadians (people without diabetes) have never been tested for type 2 diabetes. The ‘Get Checked Now’ campaign, aimed at Canadians 40 and older, alerts the public to the consequences of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes and encourages urgent action to get checked for the disease. The ‘Get Checked Now’ campaign, supported by TV and radio PSAs, and the getcheckednow.ca interactive website, features one of the more dramatic signs that someone is living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes – severe tingling or numbness in the extremities known as diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
“We thank the BC Podiatric Medical Association’s support of our Get Checked Now campaign to help raise awareness of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, a serious and life-altering complication of diabetes. We have received valuable support from podiatrist volunteers through their time and expertise to support people living with diabetes in BC,” said Connie Abram, Executive Director for Western Canada and Territories of the Canadian Diabetes Association. “It is through the generous support of our community network of volunteers, healthcare professionals, researchers and partners that we are able to lead the fight against diabetes.”
For more information on the BC Podiatric Medical Association or to locate your nearest podiatrist, please visit bcpodiatrists.ca
Visit getcheckednow.ca to find out more information about ‘Get Checked Now’ or to locate a participating pharmacy in your community.
About the Canadian Diabetes Association
Across the country, the Canadian Diabetes Association is leading the fight against diabetes by helping people with diabetes live healthy lives while we work to find a cure. Our community-based network of supporters help us provide education and services to people living with diabetes, advocate for our cause, break ground towards a cure and translate research into practical applications. Please visit diabetes.ca, join us on facebook.com/CanadianDiabetesAssociation, follow us on Twitter @DiabetesAssoc, or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464).
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For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Regina Nebrida
Marketing & Communications Associate, Pacific
Canadian Diabetes Association
Tel: (604) 732-1331, ext. 241
Catherine Hawthorne
Executive Director
BC Podiatric Medical Association
Tel: (604) 682-2767
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