Key Takeaways Currently, ICD Codes for pancreatitis associate the disease with alcohol consumption, which is scientifically inaccurate. Physicians use a system called ICD-10 codes to identify diagnoses and procedures in patient medical records and for insurance reimbursement. Chronic Pancreatitis has been inaccurately thought to be caused by alcohol. This is now known to be inaccurate, but is still reflected in…
I’ve been researching and treating chronic pancreatitis for decades, so I know firsthand what a complicated disease it is and how many unknowns remain. Answers are finally beginning to emerge, but the research is still very preliminary, underscoring how much more we need to learn. It has become increasingly clear that chronic pancreatitis (CP) is caused by multiple factors. Those…
November 29, 2019
Scary Medical Procedures Can Cause PTSD in Kids with Pancreatitis
Key takeaways: • Medical procedures can be traumatic for children, and this trauma can cause “medical PTSD”– a condition called pediatric medical traumatic stress, or PMTS • PMTS is being studied in people with chronic pancreatitis and other chronic illnesses • If children suffer from PMTS, parents can help by finding psychologists experienced in chronic illness, keeping their doctors and social…
As many of you may know, Mission: Cure recently launched its first patient survey to gain real-world patient perspectives on living with the disease. Although the survey is ongoing, and we ask that patients who have not completed the survey take a moment to do so, we are also excited to share some preliminary insights that we have gathered from…
June 11, 2020
Mission: Cure’s Statement on Racial Equality and Justice
We at Mission: Cure are shocked and outraged by the circumstances surrounding the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sandra Bland, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other victims of anti-Black violence. We stand in solidarity with the Black community, the Black Lives Matter movement, and efforts to end systemic racism. We commit to addressing racial inequality whenever and wherever…
November 21, 2019
Managing Chronic Pain in Pancreatitis
Key points: • Chronic pain from pancreatitis takes a major toll on patients and their loved ones. • To effectively treat chronic pancreatitis pain, we need to address the symptoms as well as the impact of pain on patients’ lives. • One piece of the solution is self-management, which involves education, lifestyle changes, pain coping skills, and emotional and social…
Dr. Steven Freedman of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School Dr. Steven Freedman, MD, Ph.D., a worldwide expert on pancreatic disease and cystic fibrosis, presented on Mission: Cure’s Pancreatitis Patient Webinar on Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) and Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT). EPI is one of the symptoms of pancreatitis. Pancreatic enzymes are a confusing but critically…
July 13, 2018
Introducing Mission: Cure’s First Patient Survey
Here at Mission: Cure, we strive to bring the patients’ voices to the forefront of our work. Our mission is to cure chronic and recurrent acute pancreatitis by using an innovative financing model to incentivize research and development. We are asking for you, patients and caregivers, to take a couple of minutes to fill out our patient survey. We believe that…
September 27, 2018
New Guidelines for Managing the Pain of Chronic Pancreatitis
Dr. Asbjørn Mohr Drewes, MD, PhD, is a widely-recognized expert in gastroenterology and pain, especially in diseases of the pancreas and oesophagus. Acting as both a clinician and researcher, he has authored 507 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reviews, and is a frequent speaker at international conferences. He is currently the Director of Mech-Sense and Center for Pancreatic Diseases at…
January 11, 2019
Genetic Testing for Pancreatitis: What We Know Now
Dr. Mark Haupt, MD is the Chief Medical Officer of Ariel Precision Medicine, a company that provides digital health and genomics solutions for complex disorders, like pancreatitis. Dr. Haupt is a Pediatric Pulmonologist who has dedicated his career to helping patients with pancreatic disease through his work in academia, the pharmaceutical industry, and his current work with Ariel. As a…