Is there a person in the central San Joaquin Valley who doesn't have a loved one, friend or co-worker with diabetes?

I suspect not. At least 40,000 people in Fresno County have this life-altering and debilitating disease that results in death.

Many who are diagnosed with Type 2 (called adult-onset diabetes until a few years ago when more and more children were diagnosed) don't know they have the disease until they have symptoms, such as excessive thirst, urination, blurred vision. About 57 million Americans are on their way to becoming diabetic.

People with "pre-diabetes" have elevated blood-glucose levels but the levels are just not high enough for the body to send up red warning flags.

Getting an annual physical exam that includes a test to determine blood-glucose levels is the best way to detect the disease before it takes control of the person's life, says Dori Louie-Kai, a diabetes educator of 25 years who runs the Diabetes Care Center at Community Medical Centers. People with family members who have diabetes should be checked regularly, she says. And people who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for the disease.

Take it from Louie-Kai, ignoring diabetes is not an option. Complications from diabetes are painful -- and not pretty. Blindness and kidney failure are two of the possibilities. Amputation is another.

The message she wants to share: There are things you can do to prevent pre-diabetes from progressing. So be tested.

This is National Diabetes Awareness month. Learn more about diabetes and how to prevent, manage and control it at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.