As a physician specializing in Lewy body dementia, I often hear patients and families describe delays in getting a diagnosis. It doesn’t have to be this way. Awareness is critical, particularly as new opportunities emerge for diagnosis and treatment.
Ted Turner recently announced that he has Lewy body dementia, a diagnosis that the late comic and actor Robin Williams was given after his death.
The disease is frequently unrecognized even by doctors, despite the fact that Lewy body dementia is the second most common dementia.
In one study, almost 70 percent of people diagnosed with Lewy body dementia saw three consultants before receiving the diagnosis. For a third of people with the disease, getting the correct diagnosis took more than two years.