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Youth Mental Health Strategy Funding Announcement

n April 11, 2024, after a rigorous selection process, Cassie + Friends and Brain Canada have selected two life-transforming and innovative research projects to receive a combined total of $480,00 in funding dedicated to transforming the lives and mental wellness of children and teens impacted by juvenile arthritis and other…

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Emily’s Journey with TMJ

Hello there! My name is Emily Bessey. I am 19 years old and live in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. My journey with JIA and TMJ started way back in 2009 when I was just 6 years old. I would go to school limping, hardly able to walk, but return home…

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Our Story: A Teen and Her Mom on Growing Up with JIA

Meet Amy and Abby Mazzone – a mom and daughter duo who’ve been fighting JIA together, along with their family, for 12 years. As with many in our community, Methotrexate has played an important, yet, challenging role in their journey to find relief from pain and allow Abby to be…

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Toronto Star: Is a Pain-Free Future in Reach for kids with Arthritis?

Dear Friends + Partners, As part of our advocacy for Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, I am pleased to let you know about a special editorial by Cassie + Friends appearing today in the Toronto Star newspaper and digitally on healthinsight.ca. Click here for a link to the full article. Your voice is…

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Diagnosed. By Trish Peters

Trish is an inspiring community leader and one who has already accomplished so much in her young life. Having completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce, she is now pursuing a Master’s Degree in the Netherlands, demonstrating her unwavering dedication to her education and personal growth. Trish’s unique life experiences have…

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Uveitis: Scarlett’s Story

In Spring of 2018, my 6 year old daughter was complaining of neck pain.  It was mistaken as pain from her twice a week swimming lessons.  One morning in August that same year she asked me to look at her knee because it was really hurting.  I was shocked to…

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Autoinflammatory vs. Autoimmune – What’s the difference?

Autoinflammatory vs Autoimmune Diseases Coined less than 20 years ago, the word autoinflammatory is often confused with autoimmune—so, what’s the difference? When we think of the word autoimmune, most people understand that it means your body is attacking itself the way it attacks invaders, like bacteria and viruses. These autoimmune responses…

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Jaylene- SJIA + The 2020 Prime Family Bottle Drive

As part of Team Cassie + Friends last year, Jaylene and her family raised over $11,000 thanks to donations from their annual bottle drive. The 4th Annual Prime Family Bottle Drive takes place on Saturday June 6th in Langley, BC and we need your help to make this year a success! Can’t drop your bottles off…

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