Awareness……..the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awareness).
There is an awareness month for almost anything you can think of and you can find a list on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_month-long_observances. On that list, among diseases and ailments, one can find…..Brain Tumors, ALS, Celiac’s, Mental Health, Prostate, Heart, COPD, and Prematurity to name a few. Having a month, week, or even a day of awareness helps to increase support (both monetary and emotional) for those affected by these diseases and health issues. They help educate the general population to the challenges that these diseases cause their “victims”. Awareness helps create empathy for how lives are changed by these diagnoses.
April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month (among awareness month for a number of other things like Autism), but this appears to be one disease that you will NOT find on this list. It’s a disease that nearly 10 million people live with worldwide, 1 million of those in the United States. Sixty thousand are diagnosed every year in the U.S. alone, a number that continues to rise as early detection increases, which is possible because of awareness of symptoms. And where health care is for profit and minimal at best, like the U.S., yearly medication costs can average $2,500!
But still you do not find this disease on the list, why?? One thought that comes to mind, as to why this disease does not appear to be as important as others that made it onto this list, might be that it is seen as an elderly disease. The majority of cases are diagnosed after age 50 and progress quickly. Those diagnosed before 50 are considered to be Young Onset and account for about 10% of new diagnoses. Both groups usually present symptoms for years before they are formally declared to have Parkinson’s
What currently helps the drive for awareness within the Parkinson’s community is the Michael J. Fox Foundation (https://www.michaeljfox.org/). Mr. Fox has been the celebrity face of Parkinson’s and has dedicated his life to funding research and lobbying for legislature to put a spotlight on the need for a cure.
So tell your friends, tell your family, make your story known! You how much of a difference you can make for yourself or someone else by getting the word out there. You can visit http://michaeljfox.org to learn more and make a donation to find a cure!!