Re: your letter to the Journal...Good on you Ashley!
Fedorak is a "repected" researcher (University Hospital) so his "theories" likely hold some weight. When I had UC, he spoke to a local chapter of the Crohns Colitis Foundation of Canada about his research with probiotics, and as I recall, suggested it was possible that if one was genetically predisposed to IBD, the active disease would kick in when a "trigger" was introduced (ie that northern bactera)...and that there could be a lot of different "triggers". I guess maybe like cancer?

Interesting. My doc (in Vancouver B.C.) told me UC is most likely triggered by a microbe of some kind. He said it's like travelers diarrhea, except the body doesn't turn off from it when the little buggers are done setting the balance off in there.

Also, I didn't develop UC until about 2 months after I moved to Vancouver.

This could mean nothing, or it could be telling. Who knows?

Z

I read in the article that you said 1 in 50 people have UC (in Canada). Depending on the source you use it is about 1 in 300 for the US.

I wonder why Canada has such a higher rate of UC.

Yeah, I read that it mentioned 1 in 50 people as well; I live in Vancouver, and I've never met anyone else with UC... Only heard about them through word of mouth ("my friend has that, my brother in law has that, etc") or on this website.. Is it really 1 in 50? That seems really high

Ya i wont lie, I dont know how accurate that is either. I heard that somewhere i think it could have been for people with ibd or ibs or something. I just used it to make a point that there are people out there that have it and live normal lives

The most recent study I heard of says that Canada has the highest rate of Crohn's in the world, and the rate of UC is close to the highest as well. The study didn't cover all the provinces. The highest rate of UC prevalence was in Manitoba, at 249 per 100,000 population. For UC + Crohn's, it was about 0.5% of the population. Here is a link to an abstract:

http://www.amjgastro.com/showContent.asp?DID=4&SessionG...372006&type=abstract

Just thought I'd throw this in as an update on Pisani, who's apparently doing much better with the help of Remicade:

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.htm...cc-a0c3-d1c19708a1ed

Joanne Ireland, CanWest News Service
Published: Sunday, October 14, 2007

In the darkest of Fernando Pisani's days, it was a struggle just to make the short walk down his hallway. He had no strength left to draw on. No idea if he was going to end up having his colon removed.

He had lost more than 30 pounds and almost six pints of blood -- and he had lost interest in even talking to his teammates.

But a week ago, Pisani, revived by a new medication for his colitis, made it to the Edmonton Oilers' season opener.
Edmonton Oilers forward Fernando Pisani (scoring on Cam Ward in 2006 Stanley Cup final series) is recovering from ulcerative colitis this season.
He has since become a regular around Rexall Place, he's been given clearance to undergo light workouts, and he has put five pounds on his gaunt frame.

"I went from being completely healthy to not being able to walk up the stairs without being out of breath," he said on Friday. "As a hockey player you think you're invincible -- there's a little bit of that Superman complex -- but this showed me that anything can happen to anybody.

"You sit in hospitals and think about everything ... how important your health is. It gave me an opportunity to re-evaluate things."

Pisani, 30, was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2005 and until this past July, had the disease under control.

It flared up with a vengeance.

The club's 2006 Stanley Cup-run hero was in the bathroom 15 to 20 times a day. He was dehydrated, crampy, his stomach was raw and he was being pumped with a succession of drugs. It wasn't until he was put on Remicade that the first signs of hope emerged.

"It was looking pretty grim there -- up until a couple of weeks ago," said the Edmonton native. "I started a different medication and started to feel a lot better. Things started to progress upwards instead of down.

"I was really happy about that because the next step would have been surgery.

"This is huge for me," he continued in his first public discussion. "I went from being in my bed all day to being able to leave my house.

"It's good to be around the dressing room, to see the guys, just get back to that routine. Just be a part of the team."

Playing spectator isn't easy, of course, but Pisani is certain that will change. He just doesn't have a timeline to work with.

What he does have is a stall in the dressing room, equipped with all his gear, just as it was when camp opened.

In the meantime, Kyle Brodziak has stepped in and filled the void in the Oilers' lineup.

"You don't have to look very far to put things in perspective when he's around," head coach Craig MacTavish said. "But he's definitely missed. No question about that."

"If it was up to me, I'd play tonight," Pisani said, "but we have to see how my body reacts. We'll see how the next week goes and the week after that. The doctors never said, 'No you'll never play hockey again.' I don't think that's ever been an issue. It's just a matter of getting it under control and keeping it under control. Every day I wake up and see how I feel. I want to make sure I get healthy first and get back to a normal, everyday life. Hockey comes next."

Thanks for the update - I'm so glad he's doing better. And I'm happy he's so open about his disease - it can only help.

kathy

Pisani had a(bout) 3 minute clip on local TV news this evening talking about his colitis experience. He is planning a Crohns/Colitis fundraiser.

Kevin Dineen, who was from Canada was diagnosed with Crohn's in 1987. He played, fairly successfully too, for the Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators, and Columbus Blue Jackets. He retired in 2002 or 2003. Now coaches the Portland, ME AHL team. Hopefully Pisani can have such as successful career also.

FYI....Theo Flurry (another hockey player from Alberta) had crohns too if i recall correctly.

The high incidence of colitis in northern Alberta is interesting as i was living in Fort St. John, BC (close to N.Alberta) when it first triggered and i was diagnosed. Of course i had a grandfather with UC and I had just got back from backpacking through South East Asia as well. Maybe i set myself up perfectly to get UC!

Good post and good letter Ashley!
Mike