First Canadian with Type 1 diabetes to summit Mount Everest

    Sebastien Sasseville shows that people with Type 1 diabetes can live
    without limitation

    TORONTO, May 28 /CNW/ - Sebastien Sasseville became the first Canadian
with Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes to summit Mount Everest on May 25, 2008 at
9:30 a.m. local Nepal time. Sasseville, 28, set out on his journey back in
March with the goal of raising $100,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation (JDRF) and demonstrating that people with Type 1 diabetes can live
without limitations. His trip was sponsored by Animas Canada; LifeScan, a
Johnson & Johnson company, makers of OneTouch glucose monitoring systems; and
Novo Nordisk which provided him with the supplies to last the duration of his
stay on the mountain.
    Sasseville was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 22 years old.
Since then, he has seized every opportunity to help raise awareness about the
disease that affects more than 200,000 Canadians. He has climbed Mount
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount Lenin in Kyrgyzstan and Cho Oyu in Tibet and
raised $125,000 for Type 1 diabetes research along the way.
    "I am determined to live a normal life despite having Type 1 diabetes and
to continue raising awareness of the disease," says Sasseville. "Modern types
of insulin make leading a normal life easier because they keep my blood sugar
at a consistent level, but insulin is not a cure."
    Climbing Everest is a challenge only a few people will ever attempt and
Sasseville had the additional hardship of ensuring his diabetes was controlled
every step of the way. While Sasseville reached his goal of reaching the top
of Mount Everest, he has still not reached his goal of raising $100,000 for
juvenile diabetes research. Donations can be made at www.jdrf.ca.
    A Quebec native, Sasseville will return to Montreal on June 4 to be
reunited with his family and friends.

    What is Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes?

    Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune
system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. It is
the most severe form of diabetes, striking infants, children and young adults,
leaving them insulin-dependent for life. Unlike Type 2, Type 1 diabetes cannot
be prevented nor can it be managed simply by modifying diet and making
healthier lifestyle choices.-   More than 2 million Canadians have diabetes and over 200,000
        Canadians have Type 1 diabetes.

    -   Canada has the sixth highest occurrence rate of Type 1 diabetes in
        children 14 years or younger in the world and the occurrence rate is
        rising by 3-5% per year; the greatest rise occurs in 5-9 year olds.

    -   Life expectancy for people with diabetes is shortened by an average
        of 15 years, and the risk of death for people with diabetes is about
        two times that of people without diabetes.

For further information: and/or wish to set up an interview with
Sebastien Sasseville, a JDRF spokesperson or a Novo Nordisk spokesperson,
please contact: Angela Baker, Hill and Knowlton, [phone],
[e-mail]