Anna Brundage Anna Brundage  is an accomplished and respected Diabetes Nurse Educator. She is the recipient of the Diabetes Educator of the Year Award from the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre and the recipient of the Honourary Lifetime award from the Canadian Diabetes Association in the Diabetes Educator Section. The DES grants honorary lifetime membership to recognize active DES members whose longstanding excellence in practice and significant contributions have improved the quality of life for people affected by diabetes.

Anna is co-founder of the T1 Think Tank, a highly specialized collaboration of Patient Leaders and Healthcare Professionals focused on Type 1 Diabetes. The T1 Think Tank has 3 main objectives: 1) Improve communication between Patients and Healthcare providers. 2) Elevate the Standard of Care provided to Type 1 Diabetes 3) Empower patients with skills for better self-management of Type 1 Diabetes (Editor’s Note: True to her tradition, Anna did not reply to our request for information. The picture we chose to represent her reminds us of her life’s work and the constant balancing act that diabetes management demands from those living with the condition. Anna’s modesty and humility is well known. Yet the impact she’s had on literally thousands of people living with diabetes over her long [...] continue the story

Anne Marie Cerato 4-Year Lung Cancer Survivor

Patient Advocate and Speaker

I am living with stage 4 Lung Cancer. A little over a year ago, I was certain that my life would be cut short and I doubted I’d see my 35th birthday. Thanks to a targeted treatment I’m looking past 40, my condition although incurable is now manageable and chronic, not terminal.

One of the most challenging parts of this journey has been the isolation I felt, during and after treatment, both as a Lung Cancer patient but also as a Young Adult. Even living in a world-class city like Toronto, I found it incredibly difficult to find the resources and outlets I needed as a Young Adult living with Lung Cancer. After having experienced the stigma and isolation of having this condition I decided I would do something to change things for the better.

I began These Are My Scars to provide other young adults with a place and the tools to see their own scars in a new light. Through this new perspective, we hope that individuals are able to heal from the deeper emotional scars emanating from the cancer experience. This personal project has led me into Patient Advocacy and [...] continue the story

Wendy Preskow, NIED Founder, President & Chief Advocate As a parent, whose 27 year old daughter has struggled with Anorexia and Bulimia for over 12 years, Wendy is the passionate voice and driving force behind the National Initiative for Eating Disorders (NIED). Having lived with a sufferer and experienced the devastating effect Eating Disorders have on families and extended family and friends, Wendy reached the point of no return in late 2011. She could no longer sit back knowing her daughter was falling through the cracks of health care system that had failed her family and so many others in the same predicament.

Together with a core team of passionate advocates Wendy formed NIED in February 2012 to drive Eating Disorders awareness, understanding and action.

The National Initiative for Eating Disorders (NIED) is a not-for-profit coalition of dedicated health care professionals, counsellors and parents with children suffering from Eating Disorders.  Since we formed NIED in February 2012, we have become a respected and powerful voice, promoting Eating Disorders education and awareness to create positive change for a seriously underfunded, under-represented and misunderstood brain disease.

Did you know Eating Disorders have the highest mortality rate of ANY mental disease?

We collaborate with community groups, doctors, nutritionists, [...] continue the story