Elizabeth Myles
National Executive Director, The Kidney Foundation of Canada
1 in 10 Canadians has kidney disease and numbers are on the rise. Take a step towards kidney health by learning more about how your kidneys work and understanding the risk factors for kidney disease.
Your kidneys are important to your overall health. They regulate water, help balance the body’s minerals, remove waste products, and produce hormones.
Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of kidney disease are often silent. Sometimes even people with serious kidney disease have no symptoms. Knowing more about how to maintain kidney health and identify personal risk early could help delay or prevent kidney failure or reduce the risk of other complications, such as heart disease.
Are you at risk? Request the tests
There are a number of risk factors for kidney disease, some that you can control, such as smoking, and others that you cannot. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, or who have a family history of kidney disease are at increased risk, as are children born with kidneys that did not develop properly.
The Kidney Foundation of Canada has a risk awareness quiz that helps people understand their potential risk factors. It takes less than 10 minutes and will provide some insight into the results, so people have a list of things they may wish to speak to their healthcare providers about.
If people are concerned about their kidney health, talking to their healthcare provider about some simple tests is the next important step.
“If people are concerned about their kidney health, talking to their healthcare provider about some simple tests is the next important step,” said Elizabeth Myles, National Executive Director of The Kidney Foundation of Canada. “Sometimes even people with serious kidney disease have no symptoms. Blood and urine tests can indicate how well your kidneys are functioning.”
Kidney disease is a challenging diagnosis and will impact the rest of someone’s life. At the stage of kidney failure, the only life-saving treatments are ongoing dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Talk to someone who understands
“Being diagnosed with a chronic illness like kidney disease is life-changing and can happen with little or no warning,” said Carrie Thibodeau, National Director of Programs & Public Policy. “We’re here to provide resources and emotional support to help people live well with kidney disease. Peer support is one of our key services. You can talk to trained volunteers with similar life experiences about what to expect when learning to live with kidney disease.”
Maureen, who was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) 20 years ago, is one of The Kidney Foundation’s peer support group facilitators. “When you first get diagnosed it can be frightening. Then you come to realize, there are a lot of people with similar issues, and you don’t feel so alone.”
PKD is a genetic disease that causes fluid-filled cysts to grow on kidneys and other organs, and impacts kidney function. For some, PKD can be managed for decades without causing serious illness. For others, it leads to physical pain, discomfort, and kidney failure.
Maureen was diagnosed with PKD in her mid-50s, while living in Dubai with her husband. The diagnosis came as “a total shock”; she was not aware of anyone else in her family, past and present, with the condition. At first, she had mild symptoms. Then, about two and a half years ago, while back in Canada and in her early 70s, she started to feel the tell-tale abdominal pain and discomfort, and her kidney function dropped.
She finds the PKD peer support sessions help mitigate any stress she has around her condition and regain a sense of control over the disease. “We don’t provide any medical advice, but we talk about how we manage our symptoms. You can learn a lot about the disease by listening to other peoples’ stories and hearing about their experiences.”
The Kidney Foundation of Canada has an extensive peer support program, which organizes virtual sessions on a wide variety of specific topics. The Kidney Foundation’s resources empower people with knowledge and its services provide support to those living with kidney disease.
Learn more at kidney.ca.
