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Bruce Willis dementia diagnosis leads to huge rise in visitors to Alzheimer’s website
Virgin Radio
9 Mar 2023, 13:47
Credit: Getty
Last month, Bruce Willis’ family announced that the acting legend had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, having last year been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that affects the brain, causing difficulty with speech and language.
It has now been revealed that the Die Hard star’s recent dementia diagnosis led to thousands more visitors to the Alzheimer’s Society website.
As reported by Sky News, Alzheimer's Society chief executive Kate Lee said that alzheimers.org.uk had a huge 12,000 percent more visitors between 14th-15th February and 16th-17th February.
She said: “Our vow to people affected by dementia is that we will be there, we will provide hope, and we will help you climb those mountains.
“But we simply can’t reach everyone and that’s why we’re calling on the public to donate.
"This is not a problem that is going away – the number of people living with dementia is only going up.”
Alzheimer's Society is launching a campaign to highlight the changing nature of intimate relationships following a dementia diagnosis, which has received backing from celebrities such as Colin Firth, who narrates a new TV and radio advert.
Photos taken of couples affected by dementia, taken by Paul McCartney’s daughter Mary, will appear on billboards from next week.
A statement regarding signed Willis’ dementia diagnosis was shared last month by ex-wife Demi Moore, current wife Emma Heming Willis, and his children Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, and Evelyn. “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD),” it reads. “Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”
Later in the the statement, Willis’ family explains that, while there are no treatments for the disease, this is “a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead”. They also said that they hope that “any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”
Visit alzheimers.org.uk for more information about living with dementia.
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