NEWS

My name is Maryse Hendi, I am 18 years old, and I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) when I was 10 years old.  What is SLE? More commonly known as Lupus, it is a disease in which the immune system is hyperactive and not only attacks disease-causing pathogens,…

How can we best transform the lives of youth affected by rheumatic diseases through Cassie + Friends? This March, in recognition of juvenile arthritis awareness month and #WORDDay, we hosted the very first Cassie + Friends Hackathon to get creative and collaborative around community-driven solutions that answer the question “How can we…

Meet Oliver! A vibrant young boy with autoinflammatory disease living in Williams Lake, BC! Oliver has always been the type of child that brings joy to everyone around him. We couldn’t go to the grocery store without the smiling baby drawing everyone near. His first year of life was good.…

“Every furrow of her brow makes me want to stop” If you have ever struggled to give your child an injection or to manage your child’s – or your own – emotions about their treatments, you are not alone!  In the lead up to our Methotrexate session, we talked with Yvonne…

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…

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…

Did you know that March is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month in Canada? Here at Cassie + Friends, we have been raising awareness and providing support to the JA community since 2007! We are the only charity in Canada exclusively dedicated to the pediatric rheumatic disease community and our dedication shows!…

Show your colours for #RareDiseaseDay “We’ve had dark moments and failed medications. We recognize how much harder our son has to work when he is flaring just to do normal things, like walk up the stairs, go to school, be with his friends.” -Parent, Sara Ethier on her son who…

“Imagine that your 4-year-old wakes up and cannot move. And every basic function has their body locked down in paralysis… As a parent—what is going through your mind?” Click the link below to learn how the Matzke-French family from our pediatric rheumatology patient community found a way they could help…

Written by: Sara Ethier “I wrote this piece to share my son’s journey of living with a rare, one in a million Autoinflammatory Disease. Rare means that there is not a lot of research or treatment options available to children like my son who suffer. I appreciate the small steps…

Meet Mackenzie! Mackenzie Riddell is a 14 year old synchronized swimmer who was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis (JIA) when she was 3 years old. On Saturday, January 30th (4:30 pm PST/7:30 pm EST), she will be sharing her story and advice for staying active at the upcoming Physical Activity…

Hey there, my name is Manahil. I am a 20-year-old student at the University of Alberta, currently specializing in psychology and  working a research job with the Department of Medicine and Dentistry. The road here was not easy, let me tell you that. Though it was not easy, I would…