People with Diabetes
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Born in Woking, Surrey in 1938.
Diagnosed Type 2 in Oxford in 1979

Overview: Colin Gates` father and 6 uncles were all butchers and Colin did a meat apprenticeship between leaving school and doing National Service. He worked as a butcher for 17 years then moved into security work; it was during a company health check that his diabetes was discovered. He later became an operating theatre orderly and won an award for his work before a stroke led to early retirement. He regards a subsequent quadruple heart bypass as `the best thing I have ever had done` and refuses to allow other health problems to stop his enjoyment of life.

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People with Diabetes 
More than 50 people with diabetes, diagnosed between 1927 and 2007, talk about how diabetes has affected � or not affected � their work, family life and friendships. They describe their encounters with the health service and with individual healthcare professionals and reflect on their experiences of changes in treatment and technology.

Together these interviews cover a crucial period in the history of diabetes - between the beginning of insulin treatment in 1923 and 21st century techniques that offer hope of a cure. They also cover a crucial period in the history of healthcare in the UK - before and after the 1948 creation of the National Health Service, which offered free care to everyone �from the cradle to the grave�.

The earliest memories of the period are provided by people whose (Type 1) diabetes was diagnosed when they were children, but there are also accounts by people whose (Type 2) diabetes was diagnosed in more recent decades.

In addition, there are interviews with 50 more people who cared for those with diabetes during the same period, including family members and healthcare professionals.
 
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