Yes, what about dementia?

THIS is a letter of thanks to the lady who opened the front door of Dubbo Photo News around 9am last Wednesday and shouted something to the effect of, “I’m sick of all this pink, what about dementia?”

With utmost respect, you will forever be known in our office as “the Dementia Lady” but rest assured your words have not fallen on deaf ears.

It’s as the old adage goes; the squeakiest wheel gets the most oil.

Pink October achieves this hands down and the Pink Up Your Town campaign, with initiatives like Dine Pink are here to stay, because funding Mcgrath Breast Care Nurses in regional centres is essential, and as you can imagine, costly. They need our constant support.

The profile of dementia, however, is definitely on the rise, boosted last month by the launch of Dementia Australia, the new voice of Alzheimer’s Australia.

A survey was released too, which found that 80 per cent of Australians don’t know dementia is not a normal part of ageing.

That’s right, it’s not a normal part of ageing.

It’s just as abnormal for an 80-year-old to get it, as it is for someone who is 55.

This misunderstanding comes despite a third of the survey’s respondents saying they had someone close to them diagnosed with dementia.

Many of them, individuals, are home alone with their loved one who has been diagnosed, relying on in-home care and the compassion of their wider community.

There wouldn’t be many adults who don’t know that heart disease (clogging of the arteries) is the number one killer, but did you know that number two isn’t cancer or car accidents, it’s dementia?

In fact, in the past nine years, the number of people who have died from dementia has doubled and jumped from fourth highest to second, and closing the gap fast. Dementia is now a leading cause of death for females. Now before you stare blankly out a window for a prolonged period of time contemplating your own mortality, the best thing to do now is take care of yourself, read about this disease, and learn what you can do now to avoid it in the future – when hopefully there will be a cure.

You can also own your awkwardness or feeling confronted by talking to people with dementia, as 40 per cent of the survey respondents said.

Imagine how they must feel, how confusing the world has become for them? They can also still feel; rejection, isolation, frustration, as much as happiness, joy and love.

A local expert tells me, humour is long term memory and normally lasts a long time and you may find it easy to get a smile or a wise crack from someone with dementia.