Navigating Medical School: Alejandra's First Year Our Youth Mentor, Alejandra, reflects on her experience in medical school and shares what it’s been like as she navigates her first year. Many youth with chronic illnesses, like JIA, often aspire to be doctors or other healthcare providers, as they are inspired by their own [...]
Alison Legge: Navigating the workplace with a rheumatic disease, Part 2 Earlier this year, we heard from Alison, who shared her story about navigating the workplace with a rheumatic disease. Now in her new role, Alison shared an update with us about her journey, and how what she has been through over the [...]
Be a Champion this Giving Tuesday Giving Tuesday is a day when people around the world come together to make a positive impact. This year, we need your help to bring awareness to a drastically under-represented and under-funded cause: Juvenile Arthritis (JA) and childhood rheumatic diseases. The truth is, most Canadians don’t [...]
Hope for Harley, Hope for All How one parent turned despair into action Meet one of our new parent ambassadors, Bobby-Jo! Last year, Bobby-Jo shared with us her daughter Harley’s journey with JIA, and why she was running for Team Cassie + Friends Toronto. Today, we are so happy to announce [...]
We are so excited to introduce you to our newest parent ambassadors, Tamara and Bobby-Jo, from our McMaster and SickKids centres! Our parent ambassadors are often the first point of contact for newly diagnosed families and are there for anyone who might be struggling or need a hand finding resources. They [...]
Building Community and Mental Health Support for Students with Rheumatic Diseases: Ciara’s Story Living with a chronic condition like a rheumatic disease can be especially challenging for young people, not only physically but also mentally. It's no surprise that 40% of youth diagnosed with a rheumatic disease experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, or [...]
#WhyIRun – Audrey’s Story In this #WhyIRun, we hear from the Rose family, who share their daughter Audrey’s journey with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Audrey and her family will be participating in our upcoming run/walk at Hamilton’s Road2Hope marathon on November 2, 2024, where they are not only the top fundraiser for [...]
At Cassie + Friends, we believe that every child and family should have access to timely and optimal rheumatic disease care. That’s why we launched the C+F Northern BC Project, to better understand the barriers to diagnosis, care, and patient support for families living in remote/rural communities and explore how we can work [...]
In my 7 years of living with Ankylosing Spondylitis since the age of 21, I’ve had to teach a lot of people quite a few things about my illness. It’s a relatively unheard-of form of arthritis in day-to-day life. Most people have heard of Rheumatoid Arthritis, but not usually [...]
#WhyIRun - Emily's Story Emily, diagnosed at age 3. Never complained. Emily was a happy-go-lucky kid and could always be found smiling and laughing. We felt lucky that she was so young when COVID came because we were able to spend time at home together, and because [...]
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