Cassie + Friends is leading the formation of a new workgroup on Pediatric Rheumatology Mental Health to improve mental health care and outcomes for children with rheumatologic diseases. The workgroup will be led by: Dr. Andrea Knight, Pediatric Rheumatologist, The Hospital for Sick Children + Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Chronic Disease [...]
"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 [...]
RareTalks: Genetics and Childhood Rheumatic Disease There are many rare rheumatic diseases that can affect children, and these conditions can be challenging to diagnose and treat. Some examples of these diseases include JIA, Lupus, JDM, Vasculitis, Behcet's Disease, Dada2, Periodic Fever Syndrome, and many more. Genetics can play a significant [...]
"I was known as the 'girl who gets sick easily' within my family. This really impacted my mental health and acceptance for JIA for years." Did you know? Living with Juvenile Arthritis (JA)and other childhood rheumatic diseases like Lupus and JDM can increase your child's risk of depression [...]
Hi! My name is Cassie! That name might sound familiar because my parents started Cassie + Friends after I was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis at 20 months. I am now 17 years old, in grade 12, and taking a break from filling out university applications as I write this. Time sure flies. But [...]
Fun fact: Did you know that the microbiome plays a key role in how our immune system functions and in our overall health? In fact, around 70% of our body's immune cells are located in the gut! To shed some light on what that could mean in the context of JIA, we are excited [...]
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 at the end of [...]
Canadian Pediatric Rheumatology Families in the Spotlight! We want to thank every parent and youth who participated in our survey to find out more about Canadian families' preferences and experiences with Telemedicine practices during COVID-19. Your results have been published as a scientific research paper - here's our summary below and a link to [...]
My name is Matthew Sholdice. I am 19 years old, and I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was 3 years old. I’ll start with a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in London, Ontario. I enjoy reading, working out, and watching TV and anime. Stranger Things season 4 was [...]
In early 2022 we launched the Team Cassie + Friends Youth Ambassador program to support youth in raising awareness of JA and other rheumatic diseases within their school community. Soleil is one of our first Team C+F Youth Ambassadors! This month she will give a presentation to her entire school on Juvenile Arthritis and [...]
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