The Kidney Foundation Wants You to Keep Those Mighty Kidneys Healthy

Did you know you can lose up to 80% of your kidney function and NOT even realize it? That’s because many people living with kidney disease show no symptoms until the disease is very advanced.

The Kidney Foundation of Canada works in close collaboration with renal health-care providers and stakeholders to empower those with kidney disease to optimize their health status. The Foundation offers
core programs and services in addition to public awareness, education, and research designed to address some of the key concerns facing patients and their caregivers every day, and to help those living with
reduced kidney function or kidney failure to know they are not alone.

The Kidney Foundation has more than 60 years of history dedicated to serving kidney patients in communities across the country together with its army of dedicated volunteers and supporters.

Kidneys and their importance to our overall health are not as obvious as the impact of some other organs. We feel our lungs breathe and our hearts beat. Kidneys are often misunderstood and their value to overall health underestimated.

But our kidneys are vital organs with an important role, including removing waste from the body, helping to make red blood cells, and regulating blood pressure.

So, it’s important we know what to do to keep our kidneys happy and healthy, like maintaining a healthy lifestyle, which includes managing blood pressure and blood sugar levels, for example.􀀜A healthy lifestyle can be important in the prevention or progression of kidney disease, a disease that often flies under the radar but is serious and has no cure.

It is also much more common than people think. One in 10 Canadians has kidney disease, and this number is on the rise. That’s 4 million Canadians.

However, according to an Ipsos poll conducted recently on behalf of the Kidney Foundation, there
is a significant gap in Canadians’ knowledge when it comes to kidneys, with 55% of people indicating they know nothing about kidney disease, and 52% showing a lack of awareness regarding the risks.

The leading causes of kidney disease include diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. In addition, those with a family history of kidney disease or individuals from certain ethnic backgrounds,
including Asian, South Asian, African, and Indigenous Peoples, are also at a greater risk for kidney disease.

Understanding the risks for kidney disease is important because the earlier someone knows they
have compromised kidneys, the higher the chance of preventing or delaying the onset of kidney
failure and the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Research also shows that a healthy lifestyle is important for good kidney health, and for the newly diagnosed may even slow down or prevent the need for dialysis or a transplant. The Kidney Foundation recently launched the Kidney Wellness Hub, a low-barrier, kidney-customized resource that supports the health and well-being of those across our community.

Part of the Kidney Foundation’s mandate is to ensure marginalized and vulnerable populations have
equitable access to services and treatment through the identification of needs and gaps within the
kidney community.

Many kidney patients face wage loss, and at the same time out-of-pocket costs increase, especially
when they are on dialysis. Our Short-Term Financial Assistance Program helps fill gaps identified
by patients by offering emergency financial assistance to those enduring hardship with expenses related
to kidney disease and its treatment.

The Kidney Foundation is also committed to removing the financial barriers to living kidney donation
through its Living Donor Circle of Excellence initiative in partnership with the American Society of Transplantation and the Canadian Society of Transplantation.

The initiative celebrates organizations that have put human resource policies in place to cover the wage loss for employees who choose to be a living donor.

As kidney disease is affecting more and more Canadians at an alarming rate, raising kidney health and
organ donation awareness is core to our mandate. The Kidney Foundation has embarked on a three-year
National Chronic Kidney Disease Strategy to create a broad-based public awareness framework with federal and provincial governments to help demonstrate incidence, prevalence, and impact.

None of our work would be possible, however, without the unwavering support of hundreds of volunteers, donors, and corporate partners involved in our signature events like Kidney Gala, Kidney Walk, Kidney Car,and our Tee Up for Transplant Golf Tournament.

Corporate partners like RGF Integrated Wealth Management, which has been a silver sponsor of the Kidney Gala for the past six years, play a critical role, helping us raise funds and improve the lives of British Columbians living with kidney disease. A huge thank you to RGF Integrated Wealth Management for their ongoing support of our initiatives.

To learn more, visit www.kidney.ca.

To help protect your kidney health, take the Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Risk Assessment Quiz. It only
takes a few minutes and can help you understand if you are at higher risk and if you should be seeing a
doctor or other health-care provider to get tested.

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of RGF Integrated Wealth Management, which makes no representations as to their completeness or accuracy.