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Diabetes UK new campaign.

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
My Personal view is that as per normal duk have shot themselves in the tootsies.
I know as a fact if I had read that as a teenager I would think why bother to control my diabetes if that's going to happen to me.
duk would be better off focusing on the good/positive side of things rather than the it might happen. After all it might not happen.
Also if they are printing stuff like this, what exactly have they done to educate people on the management of diabetes so these statistics that have been dredged up from the basement are not a reality in the future?
 
Damn. I thought that having diabetes for 46 years was going some and I haven't met anyone that has had it as long as me, well until I came in here lol, but 70 years is going some and I will have to live a lot longer with better control if I want to beat them lol I don't know if I am happy I can have it for that long or more miserable that I am nowhere near 70 years lol :-D
 
yeah but you'd only be 70.

I'd be 92 !!
 
Shocking and appalling that they are mailing this out😡 Diabetes doesn't shorten lives by 20 years at all and provided we manage the condition well we can live as long as the average person.

It would be welcome if someone from DUK would respond on the forum to whats been said in this thread.
 
toby said:
Shocking and appalling that they are mailing this out😡 Diabetes doesn't shorten lives by 20 years at all and provided we manage the condition well we can live as long as the average person.

It would be welcome if someone from DUK would respond on the forum to whats been said in this thread.
Click to expand...

I've let them know about the reaction toby.
 
The statistics are out there but to have them invade your own home is not something that a charity whose aim is supporting diabetics should be doing. Adults have difficulty handling scare stories so why would they send it to parents looking after their Type1 children. This really needs sorting out.

Statistics are a bunch of numbers that can never be individualised. Like others have said, looking after yourself is the key to a long life.

I wonder if JDRF send this out in their newsletters?

http://www.jdrf.org.uk/page.asp?sec...e_expectancy_of_someone_with_type_1_diabetes_
 
Morning everyone - Northerner has sent me a link to this thread and I've just been having a read. I'm sorry that this letter has caused upset to those who have received it.

I'm forwarding a link to this thread to the team who have sent this out, and will work on getting a response from them today to share with you all.

Thanks you.

Joe
 
i can wait to see the magazine and complaint i already complaint to DUK for something on itv even they did not know about it so i am going to do it again this is why we have such stupid consultant ( in my case at least ) because DUK send always wrong messages out
 
JoeFreeman said:
Morning everyone - Northerner has sent me a link to this thread and I've just been having a read. I'm sorry that this letter has caused upset to those who have received it.

I'm forwarding a link to this thread to the team who have sent this out, and will work on getting a response from them today to share with you all.

Thanks you.

Joe
Click to expand...

Thanks Joe, will look forward to the response.

I've only just got in from work to read this, so just catching up now. Like many others, I have no intention of living fewer years than my grandmothers who both lived into their 90s and grandfathers who both reached their mid 80s. 16 years since diagnosis so far and no complications nor problems, just loss of careers in TA, marine biology, professional SCUBA diving etc despite my effrorts to keep fit and healthy. Licensing bodies and potential employers are also affected by these negative messages, so that when they see "type 1 diabetes" on an application form, even if followed by "16 years since diagnois, with no problems, nor complications" they might not consider application further.
 
JoeFreeman said:
Morning everyone - Northerner has sent me a link to this thread and I've just been having a read. I'm sorry that this letter has caused upset to those who have received it.

I'm forwarding a link to this thread to the team who have sent this out, and will work on getting a response from them today to share with you all.

Thanks you.

Joe
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just got the thing this morning.
It looks like run-of-the-mill fund raising.
The shocking facts list just sums up basic stuff, it says Type 1 "can take up to" 20 years off life expectancy and T2 up to 10 years , the 20 year figure being a worldwide figure presumably including Africa etc ( but still true nonetheless ).
Knowing that T2 "can" or could take 5 - 10 years off my life expectancy has always been a motivating factor for me and I'm not in the least outraged to be told that.
 
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Hey, so I'm only going to live to 105, I can live with that. 😉

Andy 🙂

p.s. I may be being flippant, but I'm also making a valid point, I hope.
 
I got my copy of this letter today. Having read this thread yesterday I knew what to expect but I do think it could have been worded a lot better and still got the message across. I'm a mature and reasonably knowlegeable Type 2. Had I been newly diagnosed, or the parent of a Type 1 child I would have been scared to death and depressed by it.

I know the statistics are based on fact worldwide or whatever. I also know that there's never been a better time to have diabetes than now because of the better treatments available. So why didn't the letter give this message? Why not say, in effect, we've come so far but there is still a long way to go. Please donate to this worthwhile charity so we can continue to make things better for people with diabetes.

As it stands the letter could have been an article in the Daily Mail, Express or even the Sun. XXXXX
 
Blythespirit said:
I know the statistics are based on fact worldwide or whatever. I also know that there's never been a better time to have diabetes than now because of the better treatments available. So why didn't the letter give this message? Why not say, in effect, we've come so far but there is still a long way to go. Please donate to this worthwhile charity so we can continue to make things better for people with diabetes.

As it stands the letter could have been an article in the Daily Mail, Express or even the Sun. XXXXX
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That's the point it could be worded better without the scare tactics. We all know or at least should know by now the risks associated with not controlling diabetes, I for one don't need reminded and would be more inclined to donate if the mailing has a positive outlook rather than a negative one.
 
Hi all, thanks for the continued comments. I've spoken with the team involved here...

Thank you for the comments. We?re sorry that this letter has caused some upset and distress ? this certainly was not our intention.

This letter was sent out to people who are not members of Diabetes UK, and therefore sent with the aim of letting people know about the seriousness of the condition.

The appeal uses hard hitting messages but this was not designed to scare parents or children with diabetes, but to raise awareness of diabetes and its complications. Research we?ve seen and carried out shows that many people believe that diabetes (especially Type 2) is a minor or a trivial condition, and we wanted to inform and educate people about the seriousness whilst attempting to raise funds for our vital work. To date this appeal has raised around ?20,000 towards our work, for which we are very grateful.

To those who already have diabetes, the figures noted in the ?shocking facts? panel - especially those surrounding life expectancy - do make for difficult reading and we?re sorry for any upset these may have caused. The life expectancy figure is from The Department of Health?s National Service Framework for Diabetes, and provides a national average. If you would like to read the report the statistic is on page 10 under ?Impact and cost of diabetes? and the link is here: http://bit.ly/soMyP8

We?ve made sure that all these comments have been shown to everyone involved with this project and please be assured that we have taken account of your comments and will make sure that we factor these in to the planning of future appeals and letters.

Thank you.
 
Perhaps the message should be about how unforgiving diabetes is unless each individual, with medical support, manages their condition intensively and proactively, to avoid becoming one of the statistics shown.

The fact is we need to believe (even if DUK don't) that we can lead a long and healthy life providing we do as we should and more.

As someone said, a newly diagnosed teenager might read that and just give up. All this slog and self deprivation for a short life.

Although it raises lots of cash, it could lose a fair few healthy diabetics along the way. It does need factoring in for the future.

Rob
 
Wouldn't it be nice if, in a perfect world, DUK was run by and staffed by diabetics? Unfortunately I think they're completely divorced from the reality of the whole business of living life with diabetes.
 
JoeFreeman said:
Thank you.
Click to expand...

No problemo John,

The letter is a pretty good campaigning fund raising letter, well written and well organised.
The stuff about the research on the Artificial Pancreas should enthuse any T1 of any age and give them hope.......
"In the not too distant future, people with diabetes may finally be able to rest easy". Wow!
And the material on T2s responding differently to drugs depending on their genetic background is fascinating and again of great interst to T2s such as myself. ....
"This is a significant step on the path towards being able top personalise medicine for those with Type 2 diabetes". Excellent, I will definitely be responding positively to this letter to support research like this.
It seems to me that the people who are complaining about this fundraiser haven't read it or haven't got past the first page, haven't read all four pages and have taken the attention grabber and the factoids it contains out of context. The attention grabber panel just sets the scene for the upbeat report on current research that follows.
I don't really believe anybody who read all four pages and the A5 inserts that accompany it could think this was a negative, scaremongering message.
 
To those who already have diabetes, the figures noted in the ?shocking facts? panel - especially those surrounding life expectancy - do make for difficult reading and we?re sorry for any upset these may have caused. The life expectancy figure is from The Department of Health?s National Service Framework for Diabetes, and provides a national average. If you would like to read the report the statistic is on page 10 under ?Impact and cost of diabetes? and the link is here: http://bit.ly/soMyP8
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So what have the Dept of health done to address this then?
Yep that's right no education no test strips = !!!
 
mcdonagh47 said:
...
It seems to me that the people who are complaining about this fundraiser haven't read it or haven't got past the first page, haven't read all four pages and have taken the attention grabber and the factoids it contains out of context. The attention grabber panel just sets the scene for the upbeat report on current research that follows.
I don't really believe anybody who read all four pages and the A5 inserts that accompany it could think this was a negative, scaremongering message.
Click to expand...

Has it not occurred to you that perhaps people were not encouraged to read any further, given the distress caused by the 'attention grabber and factoids'?
 
Pattidevans said:
Wouldn't it be nice if, in a perfect world, DUK was run by and staffed by diabetics? Unfortunately I think they're completely divorced from the reality of the whole business of living life with diabetes.
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At least one senior person at Diabetes UK, Simon O'Neill does have type 1 diabetes, diagnosed as a young adult - see http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=407 (both the organisation and his job title have changed since he wrote the piece that I found so helpful)
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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