Not-for-profit “Taking Control of Your Diabetes” to empower 1,500 people with diabetes

National and local medical experts in diabetes care will be leading over one thousand people with all types of diabetes, those at risk for diabetes, and their loved ones, for a day of highly informative and motivational programs. The “Taking Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD)” conference and health fair is Saturday, November 21, 2009, at the Albuquerque Convention Center.  Click here for conference agenda.

Over 130,000 children and adults in New Mexico face this chronic, costly and frequently debilitating disease. The Taking Control of Your Diabetes program evokes action in people living with this disease by providing a positive, educational and supportive environment where people with diabetes can get answers to their questions.

At the TCOYD conference, leading specialists from across the country, and many from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Diabetes Network Inc., Presbyterian Medical Group, Lovelace and a host of other medical professionals in the community, will offer practical advice to those living with the disease. Conference leaders will talk to people with diabetes and their loved ones about the latest developments in treatments, the complications of the disease, psychological barriers to controlling diabetes, nutritional issues and much more. TCOYD participants can hear lectures, participate in screenings, experiment with some different forms of exercise and speak one-on-one with diabetes specialists.

TCOYD conference co-director Mark Burge, MD, said, "Diabetes is unique in that daily decisions made by the patient have an immediate impact on their health. Education is critical to overcoming this disease and this conference will arm the diabetes patient with the tools to fight back." Albuquerque TCOYD conference co-directors include Dr. Burge, UNM; Virginia Valentine CNS, BC-ADM, CDE; Debbie Dennis, CNS, BC-ADM, CDE; and Ivan Pinon, MD, Presbyterian’s Kaseman Endocrinology Group.

A health fair with 50 informational exhibits from national and local diabetes-related companies and organizations will be open throughout the day. A banquet lunch in is included. Special guests include race car driver Charlie Kimball, and former “Biggest Loser” fitness trainer Kim Lyons.

Pre-registration is recommended. Registration fees are $15 per person. Registration fees include a banquet lunch, healthy snacks, and all conference activities and materials. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE BY CALLING TCOYD. Onsite registration begins at 7:30 a.m. on November 21st and costs $20. The conference is from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. To register or get more information, call 800-998-2693 or visit http://www.tcoyd.org.

TCOYD is a San Diego-based 501c3 diabetes education organization dedicated to informing and empowering people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to take an active role in their health. This is the 111th event in the national series of conferences that the organization has presented since 1995, and the second in New Mexico.

Steven V. Edelman, MD, founder and director of Taking Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD), was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 15. Edelman, an internationally recognized leader in diabetes treatment, research and education, says, "It is my conviction, that health care in this country will improve when the people living with diabetes themselves are informed and empowered to take an active role in their own condition." Dr. Edelman practices and teaches at the VA Medical Center in San Diego, and the University of California, San Diego.

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