This Is Why You Need To Donate Money To Dementia Research

Dementia is a terrible condition. It robs you of your memories, your personality, of what makes you who you are. Effectively, it eats you alive.

Here’s a fact for you: [bctt tweet=”In the UK, dementia is the leading cause of death, and the ONLY condition in the top 10 causes of death without a treatment to prevent, cure, or slow its progression.” username=”AlexSquire22″]

That’s not to mention the friends and family of the people with dementia. Dementia also causes distress to loved ones who have to watch someone close to them slowly fade away.

So the number of people affected by dementia is actually much higher than the figures above.

The cost of dementia is projected to more than double from £26 million to £55 million in the next 25 years.

It’s a devastating condition and we badly need to find a cure for it.

Dementia Research Funding

So considering that dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK and that it costs so much money to deal with, you’d think that a lot of funding is going into researching a cure, right?

You might think so, but you’d be wrong.

Dementia receives a tiny proportion of research funding compared to other diseases.

The table below shows how much of every £10 spent on health and social care costs in 2012 went to different disease research:

Let me repeat that. A pathetic 8p out of every £10 goes to dementia research. That is 13 TIMES less than cancer.

Let’s look at it another way.

In 2015/16 UK dementia research charities funded approximately £23 million worth of research. In comparison cancer research charities funded £310 million worth of research.

The difference is mind-boggling.

In 2016/17 only 2% of medical research charity spending went to dementia research. 2%.

This doesn’t make any sense to me.

I just can’t understand why the leading cause of death in the UK – such a devastating disease – receives so little research funding compared to other diseases.

I’m trying to show you why fundraising for dementia research is important.

Dementia research is losing out in a big way and there needs to be a massive increase in funding if we are ever going to find a cure for it.

Cancer research is important but so is dementia research. There shouldn’t be such a large discrepancy between the two.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and it is a disease, and diseases can be cured. We just need to find a cure. And the only way we will find a cure is through research.

But how can we expect to find a cure when we are spending a tiny percentage on dementia research?

The government needs to provide more funding for dementia research. That’s a fact. But in the meantime, we need more people fundraising for charities like Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s society. These charities provide much-needed funding for research, even though it is not enough.

Help me raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society

I am going to be taking part in a memory walk on 6 October in Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire. I am raising money for Alzheimer’s society because my grandad Colin and my great aunt Barbara both have Alzheimer’s disease.

It has been heartbreaking seeing how their personalities have changed in a relatively short amount of time. Only a few years ago they were able to live at home but now they have to live in a care home.

They have become quiet and withdrawn, and their personalities have completely changed. Physically they are still here but mentally they are not.

I hope that sometime in the near future we manage to find a cure, or at the very least some treatment to delay the disease.

I have a fundraising target of £160 and so far I have raised £50. So there is still a way to go.

That’s where you come in.

Please consider sponsoring me online for however much you can afford. Everything will help and everything will be going to Alzheimer’s society.

Alzheimer’s research needs your help if we are ever going to find a cure for this disease. You can help fight the battle by donating right now.

Please donate by visiting the link below which will take you to my fundraising page on Just Giving.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mw503859

Thank you in advance for your help

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