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Medications

Lily’s Journey to Diagnosis, Methotrexate, and Finding A Community of Support

Meet Lily. One morning, at the young age of 2, our daughter Lily woke up limping and her left knee looked slightly swollen. She didn’t seem to show that she was in pain, but was refraining from putting weight on her left leg. We had no idea what happened and didn’t…

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Erika and Elena’s arthritis journey: Staying strong through the ups and downs

My daughter Elena was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at age 2. Arthritis? That was an elderly person’s disease, I thought. I had no idea the depth of the disease or what would lie ahead for us. First, she started with redness and swelling in her knees. I took her into the doctor…

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Kayla’s story: My juvenile arthritis journey

For those of us who live each day affected by juvenile arthritis or another rheumatic disease, it can often feel like there is no one who can understand what we are going through. Although this can feel isolating, when we share our juvenile arthritis and other rheumatic disease stories with…

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Emily’s story: Navigating pain, planes and biologics

Tanya Cassidy Irwin is a mother and Cassie and Friends community member from Langley, BC. This is her story of navigating pain, travel, medication and the unknown throughout her daughter Emily’s journey with Oligoarticular JIA.    In September 2015 there was the most subtle of hitches in our daughter Emily’s…

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Please Help: Our Canakinumab campaign has reached the Ministry of Health

Cassie and Friends Society, in partnership with Arthritis Consumer Experts, is leading a call for the BC Government to drastically improve the outlook of children with SJIA by allowing reimbursement coverage for canakinumab for the small number of children who need it. Our campaign for equitable access has now reached the media,…

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Andrea’s Tips on Managing Medications, School and Opening Up…

Teens Taking Charge: Andrea’s JIA After being diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at the age of two, Andrea’s childhood and teen years were much different than those of her peers. Her experiences with doctors’ visits and medications from such a young age forced her to mature faster and understand things her…

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