Sir, Some 700,000 people who have a form of dementia are not heard. Today, the Alzheimer’s Society publishes a new report, 'Dementia: out of the shadows'. I’m fortunate: I can be heard. That’s why I am calling for an end to the stigma and misunderstanding that surround this embuggerance of a condition.

New research shows that half of UK adults believe dementia is a condition plagued by stigma. It’s a strange life when you “come out”: people get embarrassed, lower their voices and get lost for words.

I have Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), a rare variant of Alzheimer’s. Like many other people, I regarded finding I had a form of Alzheimer’s as an insult and decided to do my best to marshal any kind of forces that I could against the wretched disease. The first step is to talk openly about dementia because it’s a fact, well enshrined in folklore, that if we are to kill the demon then first we have to say its name. That’s why I’m calling for urgent investment in public awareness campaigns on dementia.

I believe that the D-day battle on Alzheimer’s will be engaged quite shortly. If we bring dementia out of the shadows, we can kill it.

Terry Pratchett

Salisbury, Wilts

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