The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration CEO Susan Dickinson joined the ‘TODAY’ show to speak about actor Bruce Willis’ health status and details of the disease.
Bruce Willis’ frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis is bringing more attention to the rare condition.
For World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness Week, Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration CEO Susan Dickinson joined NBC’s «TODAY» to speak openly about the actor’s health status and details of the disease.
Dickinson, who is based in Pennsylvania, broke down what happens to patients facing FTD, mentioning how the path to a diagnosis can be «one of the most confusing parts.»
«Because it is less common, most doctors aren’t familiar with it,» she said. «It can take almost four years for people to get diagnosed on average.»
Oftentimes, Dickinson revealed, patients are misdiagnosed with other conditions such as bipolar disorder, depression, Alzheimer’s disease or even Parkinson’s or ALS.
