A WOMAN from Great Sankey, together with her colleagues from Penketh Health Centre, joined forces with MP Esther McVey to take on the Alzheimer’s Society’s Cheshire Memory Walk.

Jeanette Handley joined more than 1,600 other walkers at Arley Hall on Sunday, October 14 to walk in memory of her dad, Walter Stanley Cox, known as Mick, who was diagnosed with vascular dementia and Lewy bodies in his early 70s.

Jeanette said: “It was amazing to walk the Cheshire Memory Walk to raise awareness of dementia with my colleagues. We have to make people more aware of how it affects not just the people with dementia but also their families.

“I felt I lost my dad three times, when he went into the home, when he stopped recognising me and when he died. He didn’t know who I was near the end. Dementia has for too long been the poor relation where charity is concerned. It’s time for it to get the spotlight and be exposed.

“If not a cure, we have to find better treatments for this condition. It’s time to up the fight.”

Esther McVey, MP for Tatton and secretary of state, said: “It was a pleasure to attend Alzheimer's Society’s Cheshire Memory Walk at Arley Hall and Gardens and show my support for the important work that Alzheimer’s Society do in Tatton and across the country.

“Dementia is now the UK’s biggest killer and with someone developing the condition every three minutes it is vital that we work together to ensure that long term help and support is available for those affected.”

Alzheimer’s Society is pledged to invest £150 million in the next decade in the search for better treatments and work towards a cure.

Jo Hawkins, Alzheimer’s Society operations manager for Cheshire, said: “It was wonderful to see so many people with dementia, family, friends and teams from across Cheshire unite against dementia.

“Dementia devastates lives, but every pound raised through memory Walk will help us provide vital information and support, improve care, fund research and create lasting change for people affected by the condition."