News
Terry Pratchett Puts Alzheimer’s in the Spotlight
Best-selling author Terry Pratchett has pledged $1million – around £500 000 – to UK charity the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, in a bid to help find a cure for the devastating disease, with which he was diagnosed in December 2007.
Mr Pratchett’s donation is in recognition of the urgent need to provide funding for research into the disease, which affects an estimated 700,000 people in the UK. For every person with Alzheimer's, £11 is spent each year on UK research compared with £289 for each cancer patient, even though similar numbers of people are affected.
The Discworld author described the frustration he felt after learning he had a rare version of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and the extreme lengths he would go to in order to beat the disease.
“Part of me lives in a world of new age remedies and science, and some of the science is a little like voodoo, but science was never an exact science, and personally I'd eat the arse out of a dead mole if it offered a fighting chance,” said Pratchett.
On the issue of raising awareness of dementia and the urgent need for more research, the author added: “I intend to scream and harangue while there is time.”
While offering a light-hearted take on the disease, Mr Pratchett is aware that his generous donation to the research charity will not guarantee a cure can be found in his lifetime.
“I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the Cure comes along,” he said. “Say it will be soon – there's nearly as many of us as there are cancer sufferers, and it looks as if the number of people with dementia will double within a generation. In most cases, alongside the sufferer you will find a spouse suffering as much. It is a shock to find out that funding for Alzheimer’s research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures.”
Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said: “Whilst we were deeply saddened to learn of Mr Pratchett’s diagnosis, we are delighted that he has chosen to speak out about his experiences with Alzheimer’s disease, to raise awareness about its impact and the desperate need for more research.
ADVERTISEMENT - Article Continues below
“Research is the only way to beat this disease and help people like Terry – to prevent them losing their thinking skills and keep them doing the things they love. Terry’s generous donation will fund promising UK research which hopes to find ways to slow down or halt the disease. The reality is that we are scraping for every penny and have to turn down two out of every three research projects.”
Neil Hunt, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said that one in three people who live past 65 will die of dementia – a stark fact that he suggested should spur people on to fight this devastating condition.
“I admire Terry's determination to fight dementia; his honesty, candour and courage will do so much to tackle the misunderstanding and stigma that keeps dementia in the shadows,” he said. “As Terry's experience demonstrates, dementia isn't only about memory loss; it has a devastating impact on the person's life and the lives of those around them. If we are to ultimately defeat dementia it is vital that we invest in better support for people living with dementia and fund more dementia research.”
Currently, there are 15,000 people in the UK with early-onset dementia (under the age of 65 years).
To read more about Alzheimer’s Disease, Click Here.
Comment on this Article