Kidney Care Campaign - Presentation - Page 4
“You have end-stage
kidney disease.”
Telling one person is hard enough, but Dr. Amanda Halpin was delivering
this diagnosis to five new patients at St. Paul’s Hospital in the same week
earlier this year. One individual was just 20 years old.
All of them had the same reaction: “How did this happen?”
And then: “What does this mean?”
or someone with end-stage kidney disease, it means
spending three days a week having dialysis treatments
that can last up to four hours apiece. It means you may
not feel well as the treatment, though painless, can make
patients feel nauseous and tired. It means waiting for a
kidney transplant, often for years. Kidney disease impacts
your ability to work and take care of your family. Your
hopes for the future, whether you are young or older,
are dashed in that one doctor’s visit.
In fact, the mental health effects of chronic kidney
disease are just as troubling as the illness itself, as
depression and anxiety often follow the shock of
diagnosis. For some, ongoing treatments become
too difficult, and they either choose to cease treatment
consciously, or ignore their condition until it takes
their life.
For physicians like Dr. Halpin, the heartbreak is palpable.
“Patients almost always say to me, ‘If I would have
known, I would have done things differently.”
Unfortunately, detecting kidney disease early enough
to make the necessary changes for preserving vital
organ function is challenging, as most individuals
remain asymptomatic until over 70% of their kidney
function is lost.
Screen. Educate. Transform. Support the Kidney
Care Campaign for life changing outcomes.
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