YES: THIS IS A REAL, HEALTHY PANCREAS...
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes have similar names, but their causes, development, and treatment approaches are WILDLY different. “We don’t know when diabetes was first discovered but it was mentioned in Egyptian medical papyri dating back to 1500 BCE. These ancient documents describe a malady characterized by frequent urination, a symptom that is now associated with diabetes mellitus. However, the term ‘diabetes’ itself did not exist until around 250 BCE, when a Greek physician, Apollonius of Memphis, coined it.”
Type 1 diabetes wasn’t treatable. In the olden days, people DIED FROM IT. (In these days people DIE FROM IT as well…) “Canadian doctor Banting and his assistant Best discovered how to treat Type 1. Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy, became the first patient to receive an insulin injection, significantly improving his health. Banting and Macleod won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1923 for their important discovery.” Scientists eventually discovered that the cause of Type 1 diabetes comes from a Human body attacking itself. “Type 1 is a condition that starts in childhood. It happens when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas that make insulin.” It was this form of diabetes that my best male friend at the time, who was best man in our wedding, died a truly ugly death in direct result (one might even say direct DEFIANCE) of his Type 1 diagnosis…
My Type 2 is treatable. In fact, I just got a shipment of a brand-name semaglutide an hour or so ago…but what it comes down to is this. My best man had NO CHOICE in developing Type 1 diabetes. Unlike HIM, “Type 2 diabetes is largely a disease of lifestyle and usually develops later in life. Type 2 diabetes was first described in the 1930s, although its history is not as well-documented as Type 1 diabetes. It was recognized as a distinct condition, different from Type 1 diabetes, that generally affected adults and wasn’t dependent on insulin. The disease likely existed long before but was not distinguished from other forms of diabetes.”
They start differently and are treated differently…but could they be CURED the same way?
The key is an organ in your belly called a really WEIRD looking thing called a pancreas.
What IS this thing? Something oogy. Gag-inducing. Ugly. (You probably noticed it when you followed my link…)
But so important that last year, treating the main malady of this tiny organ cost the world over a trillion dollars. Yes, that’s right: treating everyone who had diabetes (Type 1 and 2 together) in 2024 cost $1,000,000,000,000. https://www.statista.com/statistics/241831/health-care-costs-due-to-diabetes-worldwide-by-region/#:~:text=Health%20care%20expenditure%20due%20to,433%20thousand%20diabetes%2Drelated%20deaths.
The emotional cost is far beyond that. In 2024, diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, was responsible for 3.4 million deaths globally; at least one person loved every one of those people who died. This equates to one death every nine seconds. The Western Pacific region had the highest number of diabetes-related deaths, with approximately 1.2 million.” https://diabetesatlas.org/#:~:text=to%20tackle%20it.-,589%20million%20adults,3
This is serious stuff people. VERY serious. And I am one of a very small group of people who can afford to treat something I brought on myself (with a little help from my genetics…) But I DO have resources…
I’ve probably depressed you by now, so I’ll stop for here. But I’m not done. One last thing – I’m not pointing a finger or making accusations at YOU: I’m reflecting on the choices I MADE MYSELF. You can make your own choices…up to you.
And while I’m only RESPONSIBLE to myself, my choices affect the lives of many other people…and so do yours…
Links: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5278808/
