About Cure4Diabetes.org

The Cure 4 Diabetes Foundation is the fastest way to a cure. It was founded by the Menke family of Sarasota, Florida, who know all too well the struggles of living with diabetes. Frank and Linda Menke have dealt with diabetes their entire lives. Frank is a Type 1 diabetic. Linda's father is diabetic. Craig, their son and business partner, is insulin dependent, and Craig's sister, Allison, has been recently diagnosed with the disease. They want to find a cure not only for their own family, but also for the millions of others who are just like them.

The research is ongoing, building on the Edmonton Protocol, to transplant stem cells from a patient's own bone marrow so that donor pancreata and immunosuppressant drugs will no longer be necessary.

Cure 4 Diabetes is dedicated to helping advance this exciting research. Donated funds will help in many areas, including:

• Overcoming difficulties in matching donors and patients.
• Eliminating costly immunosuppressant drugs and their caustic side effects.
• Reducing the overall high cost of the procedures.
• Lowering the risk for transplant patients.

Donate Today And See A Cure In Your Lifetime.

 

Craig Menke's Story

 

"Couldn't be better" is Craig Menke's automatic response when his restaurant customers ask about his health. It's an upbeat reply, but not always true.

Craig, 37, a restaurateur and father of five in Sarasota, Florida, suffers from diabetes, like 230 million people worldwide and over 20 million people in the United States alone. He has severely low blood sugar levels and frighteningly high readings, sometimes in the same day.

Craig was diagnosed with the life-threatening disease over a decade ago and has been on insulin ever since. He was among the first to study and order an insulin pump, which works to more easily dispense the insulin into his body.

His desperation to ease the effects of his disease has led Craig to investigate, enroll in and qualify for an experimental procedure called the "islet cell transplant". He underwent two procedures in Miami's Diabetes Research Institute to have the islet cells from donor pancreata infused into his own body. Craig was then required to take immunosuppressant drugs so that the cells would not be rejected. At that time the drugs were so toxic that his body could not tolerate them and he eventually dropped out of the program, and is now back on insulin.

Craig believes the cure for diabetes will happen within his lifetime. The same research team that led to the insulin transplant procedure is working on several other procedures to find a cure that will eliminate the need for the lifetime anti-rejection drugs. These include using the patient's own bone marrow stem cells, in the hope that they will be able to achieve insulin independence.

Cure 4 Diabetes Foundation has been established by Craig and his family and friends to fund this exciting research and he is certain that the cure is not decades away, but perhaps only a few years.

Everyone Connected is Affected!

Diabetes is the epidemic of our lifetime. More than 230 million people worldwide live with the disease. In the United States alone, 20.8 Million children and adults have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed, it is believed that 6.2. million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware they have the disease. However, the number of victims grows when you consider what the parents, grandparents, children and loved ones of diabetic patients go through.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. When insulin isn't available, glucose backs up in the blood.

In 2005, 1.5 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people age 20 years and olderPoorly controlled glucose levels can lead to very serious health problems. These include high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, blindness, amputation and kidney disease.

While those who suffer from diabetes are the most physically affected, the impact of its pain is far-reaching to family and friends. Cure 4 Diabetes is working hard to find a cure fast, so millions of families can live full, healthy lives - together!

 

Glossary

A comprehensive glossary of terms