The Corner Booth

"As one chapter closes..." A decade ago in 2012, I had the privilege of joining with my friend and fellow diabetes advocate Amy Tenderich at DiabetesMine. At that time, my journalism career evolved into one that could be combined with my passion for diabetes and my own life with type 1 diabetes. I'd been personally blogging since 2007 and had been actively involved in the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) for a handful of years at that time, attending various conferences and forums with fellow advocates looking to "do good" in the world. I've been proud to be managing editor for so many years, covering this community and doing advocacy journalism there - before and after we became part of Healthline in 2015.The time has come, though, for my career page to turn to the next chapter. Healthline made a decision that it's time to close down DiabetesMine. We first heard about this decision-making in early 2022, and by mid-March the final decision had been made...

So many people with diabetes whose lives depend on insulin are struggling to afford and get access to this life-sustaining medication, and in some cases, they're rationing and even dying as a result. That's why every year in February, our Diabetes Community gets pretty vocal about the "Spare a Rose" initiative , a grassroots effort aimed at raising money to provide insulin and diabetes supplies for those in desperate need across the world. The idea is simple: Instead of buying the typical "dozen roses" that are so popular on Valentine's Day, you buy just 11 and donate the value of that last flower (roughly $3 to $5) to help someone with diabetes. You still get to be romantic and give roses, while also showing some love to someone who really needs it. Seriously, it really is that simple. You're literally just sparing a rose — at a minimum, because there is certainly an opportunity to spare all the roses and donate much more than just the cost...

In the coming years, Tandem Diabetes Care has ambitious plans to introduce the next version of its tubed t:slim insulin pump, a series of three smaller devices to reduce and eventually eliminate tubes completely, and features allowing users to fully control their insulin pump and even deliver bolus insulin with their smartphones. The San Diego, California-based company revealed all of this at its first-ever R&D Day on Dec. 6, 2021, mapping out its 5-year pipeline plan for new technology. While medtech timelines often slip, given corporate priorities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review process, Tandem expects that it will be able to develop and launch most — if not all — of these new products on a rolling scale between 2022 and 2027. "As a diabetes care company, we realize there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to managing this complex condition," Tandem CEO John Sheridan said. "'Positively different' is a sum total of our brand.....

It wasn't until a quarter century after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) that Lori Salsbury in Arkansas realized the condition she'd been living with since she was 15 years old might not be what she thought it was. Though her mom and sister were both initially misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and later correctly dubbed T1Ds, Lori didn't have a reason at first to be suspicious of her own T1D diagnosis. Not until 2015, when she began seeing more people with diabetes sharing their stories online and realized something was off for her. Sure, there is a mantra in our community that "Your Diabetes May Vary." But for Salsbury, the particulars of her T1D just "didn't match" what she saw others in the D-Community sharing or what doctors and nurses described as the symptoms most newly diagnosed T1D experience. At the time of her diagnosis, Salsbury was in her mid-20s and seemed quite healthy. She didn't get nauseous or sick, e...

The American Diabetes Association's annual conference, known as the ADA Scientific Sessions , is always the biggest diabetes event of the year, and 2021 marked the second time this 5-day congress was held completely online because of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. When held in person, the conference normally convenes roughly 16,000 physicians, researchers, and diabetes industry experts from across the globe. This 81st annual event drew 11,600 people from 119 countries between June 25 and 29 — slightly lower than the 12,527 registered attendees for the 2020 virtual event. For both, the event organizers expected more people to tune in afterward, thanks to the recorded online sessions being made available for up to 3 months following the conference. Despite its virtual nature, this year's conference included nearly 200 presentations with more than 900 presenters on any range of topics. And to top it off, there were roughly 1,100 research posters delving into the latest ...

You may have seen diabetes weaved in to the storyline of a favorite TV show or new movie every so often. The condition is frequently used as a quick punchline or one-liner, or some kind of a foil that trips up the characters. These portrayals matter because movies and media have the power to shape the public's view regarding people with diabetes (PWDs). Movies and media can shape how people react in certain emergencies, kids' experiences at school and adults' experiences in workplaces, and how people make healthcare policy decisions. Popular shows like "The Blacklist," "Law and Order: SVU" and "Person of Interest" have all briefly incorporated insulin pumps and device-hacking into their storylines — but they didn't always handle it well. "Nobody likes seeing any part of diabetes portrayed incorrectly, but certainly, I think it's a lot better in today's media than it was years ago. We've made huge strides and we...