Those living with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) – and their loved ones – walked Sunday to raise awareness and funds for treatments and a cure. The annual took place at Centennial Park in Dollard-Des-Ormeaux – one of five walks taking place this month across Canada. “You have to have hope for the future,” said PKD patient Amanda Marra.
“And I think that’s the most important thing is that we’re able to work together.” The walks are the PKD Foundation of Canada’s signature fundraising event. “The progress in diseases like polycystic kidney disease can only be made through the contributions of foundations like the PKD Foundation and events like this really generate the funds that allow researchers to move things forward,” said Dr.
Prosanto Chaudhury, the medical director of transplantation at Transplant Quebec and a transplant surgeon at the MUHC. Polycystic kidney disease is a chronic, genetic disease causing uncontrolled growth of fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys, often leading to kidney failure. “Once it’s diagnosed in a family, it’s something that looms over one .
.. that it is eventually going to affect you as well.
So it’s a very difficult disease from that point of view,” said Chaudhury. According to the PKD Foundation of Canada, one in every 500 Canadians are affected by the disease, making PKD one of the most common life-threatening genetic diseases. “In my case, which is the case of many patients, I have both my two kidneys that I h.