My wonderful grandfather, ‘Papa John,’ passed away a few months ago after being diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. Despite being the second most common form of dementia, more research is needed for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Papa had a buzz cut most of my life, so to honour him, and to raise money for LBD research, I am going to shave my head (and donate my hair as an added bonus) on January 28th- world Lewy Body day. Please sponsor me to do so with any donation that you are able to- every little helps- so that we can help mitigate this awful disease.

For USA/dollars visit this page!

For UK/pounds, visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/sarah-planchak-lbd-uk

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Lewy body dementia (LBD) is the 2nd most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.

LBD is not a rare disease. It affects more than a million people in the United States alone. Because LBD symptoms may closely resemble other, more commonly known disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, it is widely under-diagnosed.

As time passes, people with both diagnoses will develop very similar cognitive, physical, sleep, and behavioral symptoms. The earliest symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease dementia are different, but both are due to the same underlying biological changes in the brain.

LBD is a multi-system disease and usually requires a comprehensive treatment approach with a collaborative team of physicians and other health care professionals like occupational, physical or speech therapists. Early diagnosis and treatment may extend your quality of life and independence.