"Diabetes is not the death sentence it once was."

That from certified Diabetes Educator Joanne Siemens as the Canadian Diabetes Association kicks off Diabetes Awareness Month.

Siemens' says the disease conjures up some dim images of how things used to be, but she says with early detection, proper medical care and, making use of people like her, who educate those with the disease, there's no reason Diabetics can't live long, healthy lives.

She says one of the biggest misinterpretations among people with the disease is they did something to get it.

"I call it the glitch. You know the glitch in how the insulin works. It's just I I wear glasses, I didn't do anything to cause my bad eyesight, it happened and I wear glasses and it's corrected. And Diabetes is like that too. It happens and we manage it, or we try to prevent it and if it happens to come into our life, we deal with it."

She says while you will need to change some aspects of your life to accommodate and manage the disease, those changes have other benefits like reducing your risk of cancer, heart attack and stroke.