Dear All,

On the 16th of March 2025, I'll be running the Rome marathon with my great friend Alex Nichol to raise funds for a charity called Rare Dementia Support. We'll be starting by the Roman Forum and ending at the foot of the Colosseum. Hopefully, by the end of all our (questionable) training and the great race itself, we will resemble something akin to a toga clad Paul Mescal and a young Russell Crowe.

Perhaps not. But a man can dream, right?

Why Rare Dementia Support

As many of you will know, my family has been on an unimaginably tough journey since my mum, Caroline, was diagnosed with a rare dementia, frontotemporal dementia, in 2021.

She was the life and soul of the party—full of energy, love, and laughter as well as a talented cook and entrepreneur. She started showing symptoms in her mid-50s, but it took more than two years to get a diagnosis.

Her decline has been rapid, yet specialised healthcare support remains limited. She has been in full-time care for the past two years but finding well-trained carers who truly understand frontotemporal dementia is still a challenge.

Rare dementias, like frontotemporal dementia, often affect younger people and are still misunderstood and misdiagnosed. In the UK alone, 31,000 have frontotemporal dementia, the majority of which are diagnosed between 45-65.

Unlike other forms of dementia, frontotemporal dementia impacts behaviour, personality, and language first, rather than memory. We need better awareness and research to ensure people affected—and those who care for them—are adequately supported.

Seeing someone you love deteriorating so dramatically before your eyes while struggling to find the right information, support, and care, is something no family should have to endure alone.

By donating to Rare Dementia Support your contribution will:

- Improve specialist support for families navigating rare dementias

- Fund research to distinguish and understand young-onset dementias better

- Advocate for recognition of rare dementias as distinct diseases, ensuring the right diagnosis, care and resources

Thank you in advance for your contribution - no matter how small it is, you are donating to a noble cause and it means a lot!

Love to you all,

Charlie