A key myth that the JDCA works to dispel is the myth that a prevention method will lead to a cure for type 1 diabetes. Our latest report, “Prevention Does Not Lead To A Cure“, explains why we think the bulk of the money donated to the diabetes charities should be focused on projects that work toward a cure for people now living with the disease.
We researched disease history and found that many diseases with successful prevention methods (including polio, smallpox, measles, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, HPV, and others) do not have a cure for people who currently have the disease or who will contract it in the future.
Our findings support our opinion that curing type 1 is difficult enough without hoping for this result as an incidental outcome of prevention research or other efforts that do not specifically target a cure.
Successful prevention would be a wonderful development, but we cannot afford to forget about the people who currently struggle with this disease every day. We are not opposed to prevention, but we do not believe that prevention research benefits cure research. Money that is raised for the purpose of a type 1 cure should be used toward research that targets that goal, not prevention, treatment, management, etc. People living with type 1 and their parents, friends and families donate their time and energy because they want to see a cure for their loved ones now.
Type 1 diabetics come in all shapes, ages and sizes, and a cure should be able to improve all of their lifestyles.
Make sure to read our full report, as it not only elaborates on the dynamic between prevention and cure, but also relates to how the pursuit of a diabetes cure has been hampered by an unbalanced use of the money. In our next blog post we will talk more about these issues.
– Stoyan
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