October 2023

Lily’s Journey to Diagnosis, Methotrexate, and Finding A Community of Support

By |October 19th, 2023|Injection, JIA, Medication, methotrexate, newly diagnosed, School, School Toolkit, TMJ, Uncategorized|

Meet Lily. One morning, at the young age of 2, our daughter Lily woke up limping and her left knee looked slightly swollen. She didn't seem to show that she was in pain, but was refraining from putting weight on her left leg. We had no idea what happened and didn't recall any [...]

OPT-JIA Premedication Trial

By |October 17th, 2023|blog, Current Research, Future Research, Injection, JIA, Medication, Research|

When I first heard of the medication Ondansetron, I couldn’t help but think about how its name sounded like a character from the Transformers movies. While this medication doesn’t fight space aliens or have a special effects budget, it does hold the capacity to TRANSFORM lives. How might you ask?Methotrexate is a [...]

August 2023

C+F Inventing Room: Reinventing the Injection Experience for Kids and Families Affected by JA and other childhood rheumatic diseases in Canada

By |August 31st, 2023|Advice, Advocacy, blog, Injection, Medication, Past Events|

Inspired by the Roald Dahl Charity’s Marvellous Nurse Inventing Rooms, on August 23rd, we hosted our very own C+F Inventing Room to ask the community and together envision what our C+F Injection Coping Kits should include. With the help of medical experts, parents and youth, we dove in and got to work! We started [...]

March 2023

Honor Student. Elite Athlete. JIA Warrior.

By |March 22nd, 2023|High School, Injection, JIA, Medication, movement, Pain Tips, Physical Activity, Post- Secondary, Stories, Teen Transitions|

"If you told me a few years ago that I would be pursuing my dream of playing post-secondary volleyball at Dalhousie University, I would have laughed out loud because at the time it seemed near to impossible." Meet Ella. In April of 2020, I was diagnosed with a rheumatic condition you are probably [...]

January 2023

Medication Update for Canadian Pediatric Rheumatology Patients

By |January 11th, 2023|Medication, Uncategorized|

All of these biologic changes are stressful and confusing! Over the past year, the landscape of biologic treatments available, and coverage for these treatments for children with JIA and other rheumatic diseases has changed. The biggest changes have been a shift to coverage of biosimilar treatments in many provinces, biologic shortages, and phasing out [...]

September 2022

When life gives you lemons…

By |September 9th, 2022|JIA, London Centre Stories, Medication, Stories, Uncategorized|

Make lemonade! At least that’s what Jacob Shiell did when he was diagnosed with Systemic Idiopathic Juvenile Arthritis (SJIA) on his eighth birthday in October 2021.  Jacob’s journey began with unexplained foot pain and swelling. Over the next few weeks, the pain and swelling worsened and spread to his right knee, elbow and wrist. [...]

July 2022

Medication Alert for Pediatric Rheumatology Families (July 2022)

By |July 30th, 2022|Medication, News, Uncategorized|

July 2022 Update: Medication Alert Dear Community, Please find below an important message from our Medical Advisory Committee on behalf of Canadian Pediatric Rheumatologists. ***MEDICAL ADVISORY UPDATE*** July 2022 Re: Actemra (tocilizumab) Shortage There is a shortage of the subcutaneous form of Actemra (tocilizumab) in Canada. This is likely to last several weeks at [...]

June 2022

Jenna’s Story – Enthesitis related arthritis

By |June 20th, 2022|Advice, blog, JIA, Medication, Physical Activity, Stories|

We have been asking youth with rheumatic disease to share their story! Sharing stories helps build community and connections. We hope that Jenna’s amazing story inspires you to share your own story.  My name is Jenna Kedy. I am 18 years old and live in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  As a child, I was often [...]

February 2022

COVID-19 Vaccine Update for Pediatric Rheumatology Families (February 16th, 2022)

By |February 17th, 2022|COVID, Current Events, Medication, Uncategorized|

***MEDICAL ADVISORY UPDATE: COVID-19 VACCINATION UPDATE + SAFETY DATA*** It has been a while since we have provided a COVID update, and we know a lot has been happening for children and youth with arthritis and rheumatic diseases, and their families. It has been a challenging time for so many, and difficult to keep up [...]

September 2021

Medical Advisory Committee: Biosimilars

By |September 1st, 2021|Advocacy, Current Events, Medication|

This article was written and reviewed by the Cassie + Friends Medical Advisory Committee made up of Dr. Roberta Berard (London Health Sciences Centre), Dr. Nadia Luca (Alberta Children's Hospital) and Dr. Lori Tucker (BC Children's Hospital). To learn more about the Cassie + Friends Medical Advisory Committee, click here. Some youth and families may [...]

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