News & Events
Discover new information and educational offerings that we provide. Explore our newsletters, blogs and upcoming webinars/conference calls.
Contents:
Home Dialysis: Is It Your Best Treatment Option? – Recording and Slides
If you were unable to attend last week's education seminar, the recording is now available! Please see the video below for details. In addition, download the slides. We want to keep getting better. Please help us by sharing your comments and suggestions here: Webinar Review This program helps you: Learn about treatment options Weigh the benefits of more frequent dialysis Develop questions to ask your doctor when choosing your treatment choice Understand the patient's perspective by hearing a patient's dialysis story
Grilled Herb Corn – A Kidney Friendly Summer Must-Have
Low Sodium Herbed Grilled Corn By Jessianna Saville Ingredients ½ c butter, unsalted 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced 2 tbsp fresh chives, minced 1 tsp dried thyme ½ tsp cayenne pepper (or per taste) 8 ears sweet corn, husked 1-2 fresh limes (opt but highly recommended!) Instructions In a small bowl, beat the first five ingredients until blended. Spread 1 tablespoon mixture over each ear of corn. Wrap corn individually in heavy-duty foil. Grill corn, covered, over medium heat 10-15 minutes or until tender, turning occasionally. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape. Notes Phos 84 mg | Potassium 237 mg I didn't use all the butter (more like 1-2 tsp/corn) so depending on [...]
Social Security Offers Programs to Help Individuals Who Are Disabled Transition to Employment
Social Security provides work incentives and its Ticket to Work program to help people who receive disability benefits and are interested in working. The employment programs are meant to prepare people for work and ease the transition to employment. For those that get a job and later discover they are unable to work, it is possible to receive disability benefits again. In addition, filing a new application may not be necessary. Work Incentives Benefit Summary Social Security offers work incentives to make the transition to employment easier. Some of the benefits include: Cash benefits - Continuing to receive disability cash benefits for a period of time when you start employment Healthcare - Continuing access to Medicare or Medicaid during [...]
Support the DPC Education Center When Shopping for Back-To-School Supplies
Shopping online for back-to-school supplies this year? Consider supporting DPC Education Center through AmazonSmile. Amazon will donate a portion of your purchases to the DPC Education Center without added cost. The DPC Education Center is dedicated to improving kidney patients' quality of life and reducing the occurrence of ESRD through education and awareness of dialysis and kidney disease issues, improving the partnership between patients and caregivers, and developing favorable public policy solutions.
RSVP for Thursday’s Webinar – Home Dialysis: Is It Your Best Treatment Option?
Join us on Thursday, August 16 at 2:00PM Eastern to learn if home dialysis would be an appropriate treatment option for you or your family. This program will help you: Learn about treatment options Weigh the benefits of more frequent dialysis Develop questions to ask your doctor when choosing your treatment choice Understand the patient's perspective by hearing a patient's dialysis story RSVP to attend. This webinar will be presented by: Dr. Michael Kraus, MD, FACP Nephrologist, Indiana University School of Medicine Associate Chief Medical Officer, NxStage Medical, Inc. Vanessa Evans, Dialysis Patient Patient Advocate Manager, NxStage Medical, Inc. Dialysis patient for 20 years, the last 13 years on more frequent home hemodialysis with NxStage
The Nuts and Bolts of Becoming a Transplant Patient Recording and Slides
If you were unable to attend last week's education seminar, the recording is now available! Please see the video below for details. In addition, download the slides. We want to keep getting better. Please help us by sharing your comments and suggestions here: Webinar Review Topics include: Learning what it means to be on the transplant list Understanding the transplant process from start to finish Dispelling the myths of what is or is not involved Learning tips for to help you succeed in the process and more
Scientists Observe Delayed Progression of Rare Kidney Disease with the Aid of Medication
Researchers are making progress toward developing medications to delay the progression of rare kidney diseases. A study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology reported a lower decline of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) among individuals with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) treated with medication, compared to the control group. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measures kidney function effectiveness by documenting how well the kidneys are filtering the blood. Researchers hope this type of medication will prevent or delay the need for an individual to go on dialysis or other kidney replacement therapy. The decline of eGFR was observed among individuals in both early and later states of chronic kidney disease. [...]
RSVP for Thursday’s Webinar: The Nuts and Bolts of Becoming a Transplant Patient
Join us Thursday, July 26 at 2:00PM Eastern to learn the basics of what is involved with being a transplant patient. Topics include: Learning what it means to be on the transplant list Understanding the transplant process from start to finish Dispelling the myths of what is or is not involved Learning tips for to help you succeed in the process and more This webinar will be presented by Dr. Keith Melancon, Director of the George Washington Transplant Institute. About Dr. Melancon: Dr. Melancon is currently the Director of the George Washington Transplant Institute and the Medical Director of The Ron and Joy Paul Kidney Center at George Washington University Medical School. Dr. Melancon is [...]
Understanding and Managing Chronic Pain Recording and Slides
If you were unable to attend last month's education seminar, the recording is now available! Please see the video below for details. In addition, download the slides. We want to keep getting better. Please help us by sharing your comments and suggestions here: Webinar Review In some studies, over 70% of people with CKD report chronic pain. If you are one of the 70%, or if you take care of them, this program will give you medical and non-medical ways to understand, reduce, and manage chronic pain. You may not eliminate it completely, but you can make pain a much smaller part of your life!
Researchers and Journalists Call Out Poorly Performing Organ Procurement Organizations
Recent research and journalism has highlighted significant variations in the ability of regional Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) to obtain donor organs for transplants. An analysis by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania rated 35 of 58 OPOs, and identified the best performers among them the OPOs serving Utah and Southern Idaho; Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware; the Finger Lakes region of New York; Wisconsin; and Nebraska. The poorest performing were those serving the New York City region; Southern California; Kentucky; and North Carolina. The New York City OPO’s poor performance was highlighted in a New York Times article last week. Three Main Entities for Successful Organ Transplantation The Penn researchers note that “Aside from the [...]
Flu Risk Still High, Take Steps to Be Protected
Flu season doesn’t officially end until May, and typically we see the flu “peak” around this time. However, this year the virus is especially harmful and active with cases still increasing. If you haven’t already received a flu vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends you still get immunized to decrease your chances of becoming infected with this year’s virus. As kidney disease patients, you are especially susceptible to catching the flu. It is important to take precautionary steps to prevent infection. Learn more about this year’s virus and information on the vaccine by visiting the CDC’s flu hub: www.cdc.gov/flu People at High Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications Children younger than 5, but especially younger [...]
Tips for Taking Medication
An important part of treatment is taking your medication daily and as required. Even though you might not feel any difference from skipping a medication, it will still affect your body and may create additional long-term problems. Understanding kidney disease, why you are taking each medication and what the medication does will keep you motivated to follow your medication schedule. In addition to your medical team, the pharmacist who fills your prescriptions will be able to help you understand your medications, when to take them, and can provide reminder tips. The pharmacist may also be able to tell you which foods could interact with different food. You also will need to learn: 1) how to [...]
The Quest to Activate a Commonly Inactive Protective Protein
New research sponsored by the American Heart Association found high levels of a protective protein, albeit an inactive version of the protein, in the blood of African-Americans on dialysis. Matrix Gla protein, or MGP, has high affinity binding to calcium ions and therefore inhibiting vascular calcification. Researchers believe finding ways to activate this protein can lead to lower rates of vascular disease in current dialysis patients. MGP is activated by vitamin K and appears to be the only natural inhibitor of vascular calcification while vitamin K is the only known activator of MGP. Active MGP binds to calcium that circulates in the blood preventing it from lining blood vessel walls. Investigators measured MGP levels in [...]
The Sweetest Taboo
By Charissa Rice Shhh…not so loud. This is a topic or subject that not too many want to talk about. That’s funny because most of us spend a lifetime trying to do it. So why is sex and anything pertaining to it so taboo? I guess as a patient with a chronic illness that should be the last thing on my mind. I can remember when visiting my many doctors, hearing them discuss different symptoms and what I might expect with my many illnesses. I have lupus and also kidney failure. There are a lot of things that can cause my libido to be depleted, but it was really never brought up. I learned the [...]
The Kidney Citizen Issue 8
In this Issue: Dialysis Patients Secure Access to Life Saving Care Why Advocate? Going Home Beginning the Dialysis Adventure Staying Safe from Violence at Dialysis Finding Answers Through Research Living Well on Dialysis When a Kidney Transplant Fails Choosing a Partner with Kidney Disease The Sweetest Taboo Put Out the Fire! Simple Strategies to Reduce Chronic Inflammation Download PDF President's Message Dear friends, As I watch the change of seasons from winter to spring, I also see some exciting things in store for our membership. We still have our two Facebook pages, one for DPC and one for the DPC Education Center. We hope you follow both! [...]
National Healthcare Decision Day
A medical crisis, a severe accident, or an incapacitating illness can happen at any time, at any age, to any person. Do you know what kind of medical treatment you want if you can no longer make your own decisions or tell others what you want? Does your family know? Does your doctor and healthcare team know? We are encouraged to use the week of Monday, April 16th as the starting point to make plans about what healthcare decisions we want for our future medical care and treatment if we can no longer speak for ourselves. Besides knowing what choices we want made, who do we want to speak for us and carry out our [...]
