PHILADELPHIA -- Thursday in Philadelphia was Diabetes Independence Day, and Grammy-winning hometown girl Patti LaBelle belted out a big message to help more than 220,000 people in the area beat diabetes.

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LaBelle Sings For Diabetes

LaBelle has a very personal reason for getting involved in diabetes events -- she has the disease.

"I passed out on stage about 12 years ago and the doctor came back to me and said, 'Did you know that you were type 2 diabetic?' And I said, 'I had no idea,'" LaBelle remembered.

LaBelle said that she struggled for years before getting a handle on her lifestyle and her disease.

Now, she wants other people to recognize the importance of taking control and beating diabetes before it beats them.

Thursday, LaBelle launched the Diabetes Freedom campaign with Ross Laboratories, maker of Glucerna, a diabetic supplement product. Philadelphia was a natural place to start the campaign because the city symbolizes freedom and independence.

"What better place to do it? Ring that bell," LaBelle said.

Thomas Jefferson University endocrinologist Dr. Barry Goldstein said that small steps can get you headed in the right direction.

"If you walk for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, it will have a terrific impact on being able to control your diabetes," Goldstein said.

Doctors recommend everyone should have their blood glucose tested by age 45, and earlier if you have risk factors.

"If there's diabetes in your family, if you have other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, like high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, especially in women if they've had diabetes when they were pregnant -- what they call gestational diabetes," Goldstein explained.

"People look at this as a death sentence, but it's not. We can kick diabetes in the butt. That's what I'm doing. So, if I can do it, you can do it," LaBelle said.

For more information on the Diabetes Freedom campaign, visit the Web site at www.diabetesfreedom.com.