Author Newsroom: Esencia Communications

Kidney related disease kills more Australians each year than breast cancer, prostate cancer and road accidents combined, yet awareness of this silent killer remains low according to Australia’s leading kidney health organisation. Kidney Health Australia Interim CEO Dr Lisa Murphy said while one in three Australians is at increased risk of developing kidney related disease, and 53 are dying with kidney related disease every day, most are tragically unaware they have it until it is too late. “One Australian dies every 27 minutes and 1.7 million are affected by chronic kidney disease but it is highly undiagnosed and less than ten percent of people who are affected know they have the disease,” Dr Murphy said. “The more Australians that know their risk and check their kidneys, the higher chance we have of sparing millions of Australians from prolonged suffering, expensive dialysis and unacceptably high fatalities.” Dr Murphy said one simple online test, which helps people to understand their risk factors, could help prevent this devastating and costly toll. Kidney-related illness is estimated to cost the Australian economy $4.1 billion a year and is projected to rise to $12 billion by 2020. With the launch of Kidney Health Week (March 5 to 11), Kidney Health Australia is urging everyone to see if they are one of the ‘one in three’ people living in Australia who is at increased risk of...