Schizophrer

The following is written by Dr. Bill
MacEwan, medical advisory board chair-
man of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society.

WE have all seen people with
schizophrenia.

In fact, one in every 100 people in
your community is afflicted with this dis-
case.

On the North Shore, there may be as
many as 1,500 people or more afflicted
with schizophrenia.

In many communities, these people
are often homeless and desticute. They
are often the most isolated of the men-
tally ill.

The illness costs the B.C. health care
system more than $2.3 billion each year
and has an enormous effect on family
relationships,

Medication is a cornerstone of treat-
ment for schizophrenia and with the
advent of new drugs it is now possible to
treat patients more effectively and with a
reduced risk of producing movement dis-
orders and other serious side effects asso-
ciated with the older treatments.

north shore news

}{EALTH

In addition, these new medications
improve cognition, or awareness, which
in turn improves the patients’ quality of
life.

The problem is chat the availability of
new antipsychotic medications comes at a
time when the provincial government is
looking for ways to contain costs,

On the surface, restricting access to
more expensive therapies might appear to
be a viable option.

However, if we look at the costs to the
health care system as a whole — rather
than co the silo budgets of cach Ministry
of Health program — we see that this
option is not only punitive for those with
schizophrenia, it does not save costs to
the province as a whole.

In fact, here in B.C. the clinical evi-
dence demonstrates we could save up to
$79 million per year by enabling patients
to use olanzapine and quetiapine, two of
the new schizophrenia drugs.

That’s because patients do better on
these new therapies: they spend fewer
days in hospital, make fewer visits to their
doctors and spend less time in emergency
wards and outpatient clinics.

Schizophrenia i is.a brain disease that is:

youth’s gr test disablet — the onset of the illness i is usually berween 16 to 0 25 years of age;

® treatable with medication: |“:

ia treatment lagging

Doctors know that once a patient has
had a bad experience (for example, the
serious side effects often associated with
the older, typical drugs) that individual
often stops taking their medication and
can become lost to the system for years.

For a disease that can only be arrested
by drug therapy, this lapse in treatment
can have serious consequences, and this
makes the medication chosen to treat the
first schizophrenia episode most impor-
tant.

Few people suffering trom schizo-
phrenia can stand up and advocate. They
are tow ill and often times too stigma-
tized. Schizophrenia is not an illness that
attracts the attention of celebrities, nor
does it benefit from telethons and other
public awareness efforts.

It is a quiet illness and that makes it
one that many people find easy to ignore.

Patients suffering from AIDs or can-
cer do not have to prove that older treat-
ments are ineffective before accessing the
best and most advanced medications.

We need the government to accept
thar patients with schizophrenia deserve
the same.

ommon than most people usually think, sficting one in 100 people or about 4 40 000 British Columbians.

a Schizophrenia‘ is not:
Serio a
a ‘chil

F any’ actions of personal

ood tras ma, bad percating o: or paver

failures of the in vidual.

tion’and treatment are.critical. There is no-“curc” for schizophrenia, But there is good tr treatment

ope. If you wish to get more information about living with schizophrenia, please contact your. locat branch of:

Schizophrenia Society.

res‘ rovides 2 2 family : ‘support centre’and is located ‘at 205; 1865 Marine Dri
. 0856. The: North Shore branch i is s open weekdays or ‘by appointment ;

“The phone number i is 92

OR. BART McROSERTS
DR. DEBRA ROVINELL
DR. CORINNE KNIGHT
DR. NANCY HARDIN

WEST VANCOUVER OPTOMETRY CLINIC

925-2525 1069 24th Street

(24th & Haywood)
Saturday and evening appointments available. |

The Virtually Painless Blood
Glucose Monitoring System.

» Canada's #] selling monitor
» Easy to rouse no changing

, (abot accurate results
* Discrete compact design
* Automatic reading

Introducing...

New Advantage comfort
strip, best fits the finger, for
easier testing.

New Humapen
Insulin delivery device -
convenient and easy!

Suge Bpested
tal price

i@ Organic and Natural Food Siore

Effective Dates Aug. 1 - 8/998

STORE HO
MON TO FRI SAM TO OPP

SAT & SUN 8AM TO 7PH

3030 Lonsdale Ave. North Vancouver
rax: 987-6155

987-6644