Standards of Arthritis Prevention and Care Summit: Is your health minister attending?

Dear Health Minister

The subject of the Arthritis Summit taking place November 1-3 in Ottawa is a very important topic to me. It strikes a soft spot in my heart because I have suffered from a very aggressive case of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) since February 2001. I feel that there is much work to be done to get this disease under control or at the very least in developing standards to address prevention and treatment.

Since being diagnosed with RA four years ago, the cost to the economy of treating my disease has been astronomical. Doctor visits, x-rays, medication, treatment classes at the university hospital, lab tests, out patient hospital visits, two total hip replacements, two air ambulance transfers to my community, homecare, home aide appliances around my home, and financial assistance for home cleaning have reached thousands upon thousands of dollars. Then there’s the life style changes that the government doesn’t see that include being unable to continue working in my chosen field because of the limitations caused by RA. This alone makes me more dependent on funds for disability from health care plans and the government. Many or most of these enormous costs have been picked-up by government in one-way or another. I’m sure there are more to come as health care professionals attempt to get the disease under control.

Four million Canadians have been diagnosed with Arthritis making it the third most prevalent chronic disease in Canada. The economic burden of arthritis in 1998 was $4.4 billion. One hundred thousand new cases are diagnosed in Canada each year. Isn't it time we looked at what we can do to prevent this disease?

Can I count on your attendance at the Summit and your support in working with arthritis stakeholders to set realistic and attainable standards of arthritis prevention and care? Without your commitment, the physical, emotional and economic costs of this disease will continue to increase as it passes from generation to generation, government to government.

Sincerely.