At some point (and usually early on in the process) patients will ask their doctor this question: Is diabetes curable? The answer to this question depends largely on what type of diabetes a person has. People affected by type 1 diabetes are born with the condition. It occurs when the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a necessary hormone that converts sugar, starches and other kinds of food into energy. When this hormone is absent, insulin therapy is often a treatment. Although there is no cure for type 1 diabetes, the disease is manageable and those who have it often live long and healthy lives.

On the other hand, type 2 diabetes occurs in the body when sufficient amounts of insulin is not produced. If the pancreas does produce enough insulin to be effective, people affected by type 2 diabetes have cells that ignore the hormone, meaning the …