Diabetes affects 20-22 million Americans. Millions more have it and don't know. Indirectly it affects nearly everyone.

Once you have been diagnosed with Diabetes your fight has officially begun. YOU VS. THE BIG D. It sounds like and at times feels like an unfair fight. Millions of us felt the same way. I know I did. Your first step is overcoming that feeling.

At the outset of your fight you probably feel alone and ignorant, leading to feelings of helplessness. You need help. You need support. But where do you go for that help and support?

In the good old days you used to have to rely on your doc, friends and family and what they told you. Problem was they often didn't know any more than you did.

Enter the Internet age where help, support, and knowledge are a click or two away. All you have to do is 'Google' the word Diabetes and 82,200,000 resources are available (as of today). From "Web MD" and the "American Diabetes Association" web sites, all the way to the newest blogs, they all show up there. One of the results you get is www.tudiabetes.com "a community for people touched by Diabetes".

Started in late March 2007 by Manny Hernandez, himself a type 1 insulin pump user, the group is growing rapidly to nearly 500 members in just three months. He started it on www.ning.com a new, hot social networking site.

Manny said of Ning "After researching other technical alternatives, I landed on Ning.com. Ning empowers people with the tools to create their own social networks and TuDiabetes is a good example of what you can accomplish with the resources they offer."

Manny wanted to take advantage of the latest in technology to help in the fight against Diabetes. He found a tool that could serve as that valuable platform for education, problem solving, and moral support-community-a social networking site. The site was described as "Myspace on insulin" by Scott Johnson a columnist for www.dlife.com

The community is very active in helping each other out providing that much needed support, educating each other and sharing the steps they take daily in their fight against this terrible disease. Members share thoughts on blog posts, exchange ideas on forums, vent, share photos and videos, all the things that are so necessary in the fight.

It is a perfect use of technology to help fight a debilitating deadly disease. It is a valuable tool everyone can use to help in their fight and level the playing field a little. You have to win that fight. This tool can help you WIN.