diabetes-awareness-month

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and it’s a time for people to focus on a disease that is becoming more prevalent every year.

Dallas County Hospital Education Manager Sally Swenson says there are two types of diabetes, as well as prediabetes and gestational diabetes. Type one is the more serious kind, where a person’s pancreas is incapable of producing its own insulin, and it’s a genetic disease that is usually diagnosed early in life. Type two is less serious, though much more common, and Swenson points out it results from a wide variety of factors, including family history, activity level, and diet. She adds, type two is both preventable and treatable, but it can also do serious harm if not diagnosed or addressed.

Swenson emphasizes that diabetes in all its forms is a serious disease, and she believes it’s something that should be on people’s minds year round. “It’s epidemic, not only in our country, but worldwide now. And so anything we can do to prevent it or delay it from happening is going to help our population age better (and) have better quality of life. Plus we save tons of money on healthcare dollars and expenses. And so I would really think that we need to emphasize it all the time, not just one month out of the year.”

To learn more about National Diabetes Awareness Month, as well as prevention, treatment, and resources related to the disease, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.