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During the week of September 15th On a Claire Day will feature a storyline and character with polycystic kidney disease. PKD causes cysts to form in the kidneys. Eventually the kidneys fail. The only treatment options for kidney failure are dialysis or transplantation. There is no cure for PKD. Until one is found, this disease will continue to affect every generation of every family that carries the defective gene.
Carla Ventresca, co-creator of the comic strip, knows the devastation of PKD first hand. She’s watched her mother and other family members suffer for years. When she and her husband, Henry Beckett, found their comic strip in newspapers nationwide, they saw an opportunity to help raise awareness of the hereditary disease through one of their characters.
The strips are set for publication September 15-21, culminating on the same weekend as Walk for PKD events in 60 cities nationwide.
The non-profit PKD Foundation leads the fight against polycystic kidney disease (PKD) through research funding, advocacy, patient education and support. In 2008, the PKD Foundation will fund $4 million in vital PKD research. For more information, visit www.pkdcure.org.
