KRIEGER: Diabetes casts Cutler in helper's role
By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Saturday, May 3, 2008
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No one chooses to have diabetes, of course, particularly not at the age of 25. It's dangerous, although not nearly as dangerous as it used to be, and it's certainly inconvenient.
Had Jay Cutler been diagnosed a generation or two ago, the prospects for both his health and his football career would have been quite different from what they are today.
That said, Cutler's prospects are excellent, and his diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes gives him an opportunity to help millions of American diabetics now walking around undiagnosed and untreated.
With all due respect to those who believe that throwing touchdown passes for the Broncos is the most important thing a human can do - I call them my readership - Cutler the diabetic has a chance to make a bigger difference for his fellow humans than Cutler the quarterback.
This is because a certain stigma attached to Type 2 diabetes - the far more prevalent kind - has made it difficult to find celebrity spokespeople willing to admit they have it and preach the value of early screening and preventive lifestyle choices.
Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, doesn't carry that stigma, which puts Cutler in a position to have an impact on a mushrooming health problem in America.
"The fact that people feel so guilty about getting diabetes is why it's been so hard to find a national spokesperson, to get famous people to stand up and say, 'Hey, I have diabetes and let me show you how I manage to conquer it,' or 'Let me go see if I can raise funds to improve research for this condition,' " says Dr. Jennifer Hone, an endocrinologist and medical director for diabetes programs at Rose Medical Center.
"People are embarrassed. And they shouldn't be. It's not their fault."
Cutler, who set up a charitable foundation aimed at Denver youth problems as soon as he hit town, is already taking aim at his new foe.
"We're working with Dedicated to Diabetes here in town," he reported Friday, barely two weeks after his diagnosis.
"Whenever I found out, that's kind of the first thing that popped in my mind, was my foundation and kind of getting involved with some groups here in town. So we're teaming up with them and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we'll be able to get involved a little bit more. This is something I'm going to deal with the rest of my life and Type 1 is involved with a lot of children, so I want to help out as much as possible."
Type 1, which used to be called juvenile diabetes, usually strikes children or teenagers, although it can appear at any age.
"The immune system, whose job it is to say, 'This is Jay Cutler, that's Jay Cutler, oh, that's not Jay Cutler, kill it,' took one look at his pancreas one day, actually starting at birth, and said, 'Jay, is that you?' and started attacking his insulin-producing cells," Hone explained.
There's nothing Type 1 patients can do about that, but they have many more tools to manage the disease than their parents or grandparents did.
"The advances that have occurred in the last 25 years are absolutely extraordinary," Hone said. "A lot of people have the idea that once they get diabetes they might as well slit their wrists and climb into the bathtub now because, 'Oh, my God, I'm going to die.' And that is not true. That is absolutely, categorically not true."
The bigger social problem is the growing number of Americans - in the millions - who have Type 2 diabetes and don't know it. Without treatment, diabetes can still cause all the awful things it used to cause, including blindness, dialysis, amputation, heart disease, strokes and vascular disease.
If Dr. Hone could write Cutler's script, she would have him tell people that Type 2 diabetes is preventable, that both forms are manageable with lifestyle changes and modern technology, and that feeling guilty about having Type 2 is pointless.
"Even if you get Type 2 diabetes, which clearly has a link to lifestyle choices like diet, exercise and obesity, if you didn't have the genes, you could be 400 pounds and not get diabetes," she said. "So people should not spend a lot of time wallowing in guilt and self-castigation because they got diabetes."
Cutler can help with all of this. People at risk for Type 2 need to get screened. People with either type need to manage it. Cutler ruefully admitted he won't be eating fast food the way he used to.
Dedicated to Diabetes says more than 80,000 amputations of lower limbs were performed on diabetics in the U.S. in 2002. Some 21 million Americans have the disease, about a third of them undiagnosed. Our fast food- fueled, sedentary lifestyle is like a petri dish for cultivation of Type 2.
Cutler said he took about two days to get over the news and start thinking about how to fight this new adversary. As an elite athlete, his mind-set is to beat it. As a famous quarterback, he has a chance to help others beat it, too.
Comments
Posted by stella on May 3, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"No one chooses to have diabetes, of course, particularly not at the age of 25."
He's actually quite lucky to have gone so long. He's not a 4 y/o or a 7 y/o who suddenly is thrown into a world of shots and insulin and rigid meal times/planning and constant worry about highs/lows, etc. I guess, though, it gives my young nephew a very recognizable role model into what you can do even though you have Type 1.
And I appreciate the desire to educate people about diabetes but why can't Cutler and Dedicated to Diabetes choose to highlight Type 1 rather than Type 2? Why can't he put his energies into researching a cure? We have one of the best Type 1 diabetes clinics in the country: the Barbara Davis Center. Maybe he can work with them and highlight the strain of disease he has rather than focusing on the type he doesn't have.
Posted by desertwind on May 3, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think that having Cutler as a spokesperson and role model for other newly diagnosed, or untested diabetics can only help the cause.
I know exactly how Jay felt. I was diagnosed with Type 1 when I was 19 and I had all the tell-tale symptoms, but since I also had no family history, I had no reason to suspect that I had diabetes. The fatigue, thirst, weight loss was just stress or something I thought.
That was 1983, and I wish that I could have been diagnosed in an era when the insulin pump was the preferred treatment, rather than the constant injections with syringes that I endured for over 20 years.
I am a former radio broadcaster, and while I was on the airwaves in Arizona, I used my "status" to become a spokesperson for the America's Walk For Diabetes. When the event was over, organizers wrote me a letter of thanks, saying that the number of participants and the funds raised were 50% above average. If a relatively unknown radio DJ can have that much impact on awareness, imagine the difference Jay can make.
I wish him the best with the change in lifestyle, and hope that he does well when the bad days occur, and they will occur. A simple flu bug has been known to put me in the hospital.
The fact that he is a young and otherwise healthy and fit athlete can only help him as long as he takes care of himself and monitors his condition.
Posted by NeilT on May 3, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good post, Stella!
My daughter was diagnosed three years ago, at age 5. She still struggles daily. The basics of Diabetes are a breeze for her. She knows more about it than most lower-level health care providers. She was doing her own glucose tests within two weeks of diagnoses. Within a few months she would do her own injections (we would still draw the insulin for her).
I admire her. I wish she understood the significance of her father’s admiration, but she is only 8 years old. In due time.
It is a great injustice for Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes to even share the same name. Type 1 is genetic and generally affects children. Type 2 is a lifestyle choice (a lot of research into socioeconomic standing points to less of a choice and more of class, for some) and generally affects adults (yet some horrible parents have allowed their 12-year olds to acquire Type 2 through an overabundance of high sugar drinks and inactivity).
My daughters daily struggles come courtesy of people outside the home. These folks are supposed to be friends and educators. Kids in her class did not want to play the game Heads-Up-Seven-Up with her, for they did not want to touch her thumb because she had to “poke” for glucose tests.
Her FORMER teacher did not allow her mandatory restroom breaks (the higher the glucose, the more frequent urination). She had an accident in class. Imagine how that made her feel.
The “nurse” at school, a registered nutritionist, of all things, gave her a chocolate muffin when she tested at over 260 at snack time. She was pushing 500 when she got home from school. She had to endure the long bus ride home feeling horrible.
Screw Type 2. Kids need help.
Posted by RobD on May 3, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
NeilT...
I feel for your daughter, going through all the things she has. And I'm sure she'll have a very healthy, happy, productive life, even in the face of this horrible disease.
As for you, though...
With all due respect, you're a dolt. Seriously. Despite the numbers of people who have obviously done a lot to bring diabetes on themselves, HOW DARE YOU say "screw type 2". What a douchebag. Diabetes is pretty prevalent on both sides of my family, and guess what? Several of us have become diabetics (you know, the type 2 kind that can go screw off, as far as you're concerned), and we are otherwise all very healthy adults.
You can be pretty damn healthy (and fit, and thin, and all those other things us type 2's aren't supposed to be) and still get the disease. That's right, it does happen.
I'm hoping you were just caught up in emotions while thinking of your daughter. Otherwise, you are an ignorant idiot, and that was a horrible thing to say. Think before you post, you twit.
Posted by NeilT on May 3, 2008 at 1:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dolt, twit, ignorant idiot...douchebag???
Are you serious?
I’m hoping you were just caught up in emotions while thinking of yourself.
Type 2, due to the number of people affected, gets a lot of attention. Medications, some oral, are advertised on TV. My daughter gets excited at the thought of a pill. Only to learn it’s for Type 2.
“No, Honey, that pill will not work for you.”
How about the barrage of “helpful” people that we encounter on a daily basis that “inform” us that her Diabetes has a holistic cure or can be managed with simple lifestyle changes. They don’t understand the difference. This further complicates things with a child.
“That lady at the store is wrong. As good as exercise and a sound diet is, you will still need to poke your fingers 4-8 times a day and get 3 or 4 shots a day.”
It’s unfortunate these two diseases share the same name. A young star is diagnosed with Type 1, yet attention will be drawn to Type 2?
That’s why I said screw Type 2. It’s a whole different world for kids dealing with this than for adults. You obviously don’t understand the difference. Most adults can communicate, reason and, if need be, defend themselves from some of the ignorant among us. A 6-year old having to defend herself from, and help educate, a school “nurse” is unfair.
It’s not like I said “Screw You”...
But if Type 2 defines you...and the shoe fits...
Posted by netter on May 3, 2008 at 1:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The posts on this article are actually proving the point made by the Dr. in the article about the stigma of Type 2 diabetes. As one of Jay's fans going back to his Vandy days, I'd like to remind all of you that Jay can use his time and money to support whatever cause he chooses. You ought to just be happy that someone in his position wants to helps ALL people with diabetes, both Type 1 and Type 2. All diabetics can benefit from additional research and funding, and there's no reason to be judgmental about it. Didn't you read the part in the article where the Dr. said that genetics are such a factor that even someone who weighs 400 pounds may not be diabetic if he doesn't have the genes for it?
To the person in charge of this site- the previous comments are clearly abusive and should be removed. No one should be exploiting Jay's serious illness to take jabs at each other.
Posted by stella on May 3, 2008 at 2:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
" I'd like to remind all of you that Jay can use his time and money to support whatever cause he chooses."
I didn't say he couldn't. My point was that Type 1 is quite different than Type 2 but they always seemed to get lumped together with Type 2 taking priority in how people see the disease. For kids, having someone -- a football big shot -- with a similar disease be vocal about what he has to do/what he can do anyway in spite of it would be hugely inspiring. That's a great opportunity because life *is* different and challenging for these kids and their parents even with the advances in diabetic treatments.
Posted by DedicatedtoDiabetes on May 5, 2008 at 2:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Dedicated to Diabetes is working with Jay to raise diabetes awareness Type 1 and Type 2. Everyone is important and everyone needs to be educated.
Its not Type 1 vs Type 2 its about people and their lives. Everyone matters and no one deserves diabetes. Genes play a key role in diabetes. Your comments prove that we have a lot of work to do to change these common misconceptions. It is upsetting that a mother of a diabetic child could be so insensitive to someone else's child who has type 2. TODAY is a research study of type 2 diabetic children they have seen children as young as age 4. My father has Type 1 so I have lived with it everyday since I was born.
Just because my family is only affected by Type 1 doesn't mean that I shouldn't help families who have Type 2. That is why I started Dedicated to Diabetes. This is not a game, we both loose lives if we don't work together.
Diabetes does not discriminate, it affects every age, gender, ethnicity, and economic level.
Posted by filmjay2k on May 5, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'd like to congratulate Mr. Krieger on a thoughtful, pertinent, and well researched column; with social value. I wonder if he would be so good as to offer some help to his collegue, Mr. Linicome. Perhaps some tutoring to help with his homework?
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