Newly Diagnosed?

Being diagnosed with kidney disease can be overwhelming. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is critical to your ability to delay or avoid kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplantation.

 Newly Diagnosed?

For a newly diagnosed kidney patient, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is critical to helping delay or even avoid kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplantation. Caring for yourself and focusing on your kidney wellbeing is important to supporting overall quality of life.

We’re Here to Help

Being diagnosed with kidney disease can be overwhelming. Often this leaves you with many questions.

  • What does this diagnosis mean for me? How will kidney disease change my life? What can I do to help manage this disease?  

  • After meeting with your health care team, you may have many more questions along the way. Having the opportunity to speak with someone with a shared lived experience can be incredibly beneficial for patients, care partners and living donor families.

    The Kidney Wellness Hub offers one-to-one peer mentors or you can join one of our peer engagement groups. Although we do not provide medical advice, we can answer questions you may have about your diagnosis. You can reach us on the Information Hotline at 604.558.6879 or by emailing us at kidneywellnesshub@kidney.ca.

  • The Kidney Wellness Hub has been designed with a specific goal to support you, as a newly diagnosed kidney patient. We want to provide you with a repository of kidney-customized information and videos to help support your physical, mental and social wellbeing, which includes the opportunity to connect with others with shared lived experiences online in the kidney community.  

    In addition to the Kidney Wellness Hub, the Kidney Foundation has a wealth of information and educational resources that may also be beneficial. Browse through the guide organized by where you are on a your kidney journey at kidney info or check our Living with Reduced Kidney Function manual.

    For more information, check out the Resources section on this site.   

Maintaining Your Kidney Health

Dr. Bevilacqua, nephrologist at Surrey Memorial Hospital, explains the importance of your overall wellness in maintaining your kidney health.

Where to Start?

The Kidney Wellness Hub has a number of effective ways to maintain kidney health and improve overall quality of life. Designed for all stages of kidney disease and levels of health, these programs are also beneficial for those at risk of kidney disease looking to implement preventative measures in their lives.  

  • The Staying Active section offers a variety of kidney-customized, on-demand classes for all levels of physical fitness, including chair classes for anyone with limited mobility. These videos are designed to improve your activity levels

  • Eating Well and making good food choices, let alone kidney-friendly food choices, is not always easy. Sometimes we need a little help or guidance in the kitchen.

    Make use of the kidney-friendly recipes, a menu planner, a dietitian blog and even live, online cooking classes you can join with your friends and family.

  • Mental Wellbeing can help you deal with the challenges you face as a kidney patient. You’ll find resources like mindful meditation, sleeping well, and music therapy. You can even apply for free kidney wellness coaching to help support you as you look forward in your life to set health and wellness goals that are intentional, achievable, and focused on what you truly want for yourself.

  • Socially Connecting may help reduce stress and lower your levels of anxiety or depression. We have many opportunities for kidney patients and their care partners to share lived experiences. You can talk one-to-one, join a group session, or connect directly through our private Facebook group to share kidney wellness tips or advice.

Join the Kidney Wellness Hub and be the first to hear about kidney health classes, upcoming events, and the latest opportunities.