NEWS

Meet Stephanie, who is running with Team Cassie + Friends to raise awareness for Juvenile Arthritis for her son, Tommy! Diagnosed with oligoarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) just after his second birthday, Tommy’s journey has been full of ups and downs.

This World Lupus Day, we’re honoured to share a guest blog from one of our incredible youth mentors, Hunter. Diagnosed with lupus at just nine years old, Hunter faced more than most kids his age. Now at 24, Hunter works as a research assistant at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, helping…

La version française suit la version anglaise. We’re so excited that on May 25, 2025, Montréal will host its FIRST EVER Team Cassie + Friends walk/run! Read more about the amazing families that will be joining us below—and then join kids like Valerina, Beatrice, and Brooklyn by running or walking with…

We’ve had many highs and lows since her diagnosis, but we are so thankful for the Cassie + Friends community. It’s made us feel less alone.

One of the most hopeful moments came in February 2025, when Blake began standing on her own again in the mornings. Watching her stand and brush her teeth by herself is something I’ll never take for granted.

One of Cassie + Friends’ missions is to raise awareness and improve education surrounding JIA and other rheumatic diseases, both for the public and healthcare providers.

As of today, Valerina is pain-free and she continues to thrive. We are very grateful for her dedicated healthcare professionals and all the support and resources from Cassie + Friends!

The First Signs Ziyaad was born on January 2, 2017, and he is now 8 years old. He has 2 older siblings, a sister, Nureen age 18, and a brother Fayaaz, age 16. He also has a cat, named Leo. Ziyaad enjoys being outdoors, swimming, biking and hiking. He is…

Seek out ways to connect with other families to talk more about what recommendations they have and just feel like you aren’t alone! I

We felt lost in the process—how could we advocate for her when we didn’t even fully understand what was going on? It was frustrating, exhausting, and confusing.

One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned through this journey is that staying active is critical for managing JIA

Some days are easy for them and on others it’s very hard to be mobile.