11/3/2008 - Diabetes : Diabetes Awareness Month
Nearly everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. However, what many people don’t realize is that November is American Diabetes Awareness Month. Diabetes is something that should be on the minds of more people. More than 20 million people in the United States have diabetes. What’s even scarier is that nearly one third of those people don’t even know they have the disease. October’s focus on breast cancer has created a heightened awareness and helped lower breast cancer related deaths in recent years. But, since 1987, death rates due to diabetes have increased by 45 percent. Throughout the month of November, take the time to get checked for diabetes and know your risk for developing the disease. St. John’s now offers a free, online tool called Diabetes Aware that can assess your risk of developing diabetes. To take the assessment, log on to St. John’s website and click on the Diabetes Aware icon, or for more information, call St. John’s Nutrition, Wellness and Diabetes Center at 659.6488.
