My personal interest is in finding a cure for Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. My
now 15 year old daughter was diagnosed almost 5 years ago. So far, she has
pricked her fingers approximately 11,000 times, and has taken about 7,500
insulin injections. If she had cancer, she could hope to be cured – or at
least to go into remission so she wouldn''t need 4 or 5 or 6 insulin shots
every day just to stay alive. Right now, all we can hope for is that she
doesn't have a heart attack or a stroke, that she doesn't go blind, that
her kidneys keep working and that her feet and legs don't have to be amputated.
Now, let me tell you about the economics of diabetes. Diabetics test their
blood sugar levels at least four times a day – children with type 1
juvenile diabetes test more like 6 to 8 timees a day. These little test
strips that are used to measure blood glucose levels cost, conservatively
and on average, 70 cents per strip. Diabetics who test their blood glucose
level just 4 times per day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime) are spending
Two Dollars and Eighty Cents per day, or a little over a thousand dollars a
year, minimum, on these strips. That's over a billion dollars per year for
every 1 million diabetics, and there are an estimated 17 million people
suffering from diabetes in the US alone.
Next, I am going to review the financials from the 2003 and 2004 Annual
Reports of Eli Lilly & Company, one of the major producers of insulin.
Before I do, I want to remind you that insulin will never cure diabetes. It
is what my 15-year-old refers to as her 'lifeline'. It keeps a diabetic
alive, but does not prevent the catastrophic side effects. And it will
never cure anyone!
2003: "Our worldwide sales…increaseed 14%, to 12.58 billion dollars."
Sources of revenue: "Diabetes care products, composed primarily of
Humulin…Humalog…and Actos…hs…had aggregate worldwide revenues of 2.57
billion dollars." Ladies and gentlemen, 20% of the worldwide sales were
from 3 products, 2 of which (Humulin and Humalog) are for 'maintenance' of
type 1 diabetics. In 2003, Humulin sales in the US were 507.5 million
dollars, and were 658.6 million dollars for Humalog.
The 2004 numbers are equally staggering. The same three products had
aggregate worldwide revenues of 2.61 billion dollars. Humulin sales in the
US were only 422.7 million, but Humalog sales in the US were up to 685.4
million dollars. An explanation offered by Eli Lilly is (and this is a
direct quote!) "Humalog sales in the US increased 3 percent as increased
prices offset slight volume declines."
That's 5.18 billion dollars in a two-year period – to treat patients who
will not get better. That's a whole loot of insurance and medicare dollars
going to two drugs to maintain a condition for which there actually might
be a cure.
Breakthroughs using stem cell therapies have been announced all over the
world, and involving many conditions, such as reversing the side effects of
diabetes, curing type 1 juvenile diabetes, restoration of immune systems in
cancer patients, improvement of a Parkinson's patient's motor skills by
83%, reversal of heart tissue damage in a heart attack victim, the list
goes on and on. Stem cells work, and more research is needed.
This is not a religious issue. This is a health issue. This is a "where are
my Medicare dollars going?" issue – a quality of life issue Even though
the dollars are huge, let's not forget that the main benefits from stem
cell research and therapies are to improve the health and to save the lives
of millions who suffer, or who may in the future suffer from diseases that
could be treated or cured with new stem cell therapies. We are talking
about improvement of the quality of a human life!
I totally agree with you on stem cell research, B. Have you visited StemPac.com? I truly think that some politicians' views on stem cell research will cost them their jobs in the not so distant future. Thanks for posting!
The Bookseller to the Stars applauds you and will donate to the bike ride. xx
Hey, Marth,
Thanks, you made my day! (got a little teary though)
You are an inspiration and I am proud to know you.
Because of your son's story, my husband and I now donate to JDRF. Kisses.
Martha,
Terrific post! You're doing so much for your son, and other diabetics... you should be proud.
Hey, just finished reading The Bitch Posse. Thanks for this as well... it's the first non-diabetes book I've read in a long time.
Yes, you're right, it is very dark. But it's also raw and real. I couldn't put it down. You've created a posse of powerful, compelling women-- you must miss them.
Take care,
Martha,
What can I say? I LOVE that another "straight-talker" is putting it all out there on diabetes.
It may sound selfish, but I do wonder if I'll live long enough to see the cure. Your son surely will!!
Now when do I get to meet you?! (Let me know when you're planning to visit that boy on the Peninsula, ya hear?)
- Amy
Dear Martha, your interview on Word by Word is now archived here: http://www.pcmg.tv/krcb/wbw/wbw.htm
I would love it if you posted the link, so folks can not only hear our interview, which I thought was great, but find out about Word by Word, which I'm trying to spread the, uh, word on...
thanks so much for being on the show. I'm so proud of the success your book is having!
Jordan Rosenfeld
Host, Word by Word
Oh, that's great to know, Jordan! I'll pull the link out to the top of the blog so that everyone can find it. It was wonderful meeting you. I really had fun with that interview.
Thanks Martha! A friend of mine who has a 20 year-old daughter who doesn't read said to me, "I bought this book I think she'll read, it's called The Bitch Posse." I said, "oh she'll LOVE it."
J
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