Why We Started

Chapter 3 of Ending Parkinson’s Disease, written by lead author Dr. Ray Dorsey, emphasizes 3 previous diseases that went from catastrophic to curable after grass roots awareness movements got behind them. The diseases were polio, HIV/Aids, and breast cancer.

1. Most of us today must read about the devastating effects of polio in history books because the March of Dimes campaign started in 1938 and resulted in the polio vaccine being developed in 1953. In 5 years, polio cases dropped tenfold from the peak of 58,000 in 1952 to 5,600 in 1956.

2. HIV/Aids went from a death sentence to 81% of those receiving treatment having undetectable levels of the virus. This was the result of years of grass roots activism, starting when 500,000 people gathered at the Washington, D.C. National Mall to see the AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed and to increase the awareness of the dreaded disease. As a result, HIV/AIDs research received more funds from the NIH than any other single condition.

3. Pink Ribbon—who doesn’t know immediately it stands for breast cancer?! Starting with the pink ribbon, breast cancer went from being a stigma in the past to having the whole month of October recognized for it. Survival rates increased to 90% after NIH started spending $700,000,000 annually.

These three success stories among others were powered by awareness programs with identifiable symbols making it easier for supporters to understand and support the specific cause in multiple ways. Elevating the recognition of Red Tulip to represent the campaign of defeating Parkinson’s can work as well as the pink ribbon has.

It’s time to focus on Parkinson’s. Stop thinking of it as a natural part of aging. Only 11% of the people with Parkinson’s have a genetic factor. It is believed that the remaining 89% contract it from environmental factors. Research will some day find the true answer to the Parkinson’s onset explosion but not without an explosion of dollars to expedite finding those answers. Let’s put the Red Tulip to work now!

Led by People with Parkinson’s to serve People with Parkinson’s.