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 [...]
Thank you to everyone who helped make Giving Tuesday a huge success for children and families affected by Juvenile Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases - including one very special gift we wanted to share with you from eight-year old Iyla. Iyla, from Meaford, Ontario, has been diligently raising money for Cassie + Friends all [...]
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 [...]
Cassie + Friends is proud to introduce our first-ever practicum student, Jillian Wickert. Welcome, Jillian! Jillian is a student at the University of Alberta (U of A) doing a Master’s Degree in Community Engagement within the School of Public Health. Jillian not only has an interest in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and chronic illness, [...]
Three-year-old Katherine can keep up with other kids now, but that wasn't always the case... When Alana noticed her daughter was limping at the playground, she didn't know what to think - especially when the limp didn't go away. She decided to bring her to a doctor to be examined. After weeks of testing [...]
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, we are very excited to now be recruiting for our second International Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pediatric Rheumatology in the Brown Lab (http://kbrownlab.ca) at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute. Read below to hear from our first fellow, Dr. Lovro Lamot, a Pediatric Rheumatologist from Zagreb, Croatia, [...]
Hey! My name is Josie Fratarcangeli, and I am from Woodstock, Ontario. I was diagnosed with Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis when I was 4 years old. I am currently 17 years old – and have just “graduated” from London Health Science’s Pediatric Medical Day Unit (PMDU) where I got my monthly infusions of Remicade [...]
Hi! My name is Hayley. I was diagnosed with JIA at the age of 13. Around age 12 I realized that I could not straighten my fingers. Young me was very medically inclined, so after some googling, I diagnosed myself with arthritis. It took a long time to convince the adults in my life [...]
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. [...]
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