First ever International Paget’s Disease Awareness Day
Friday 11th January 2019 marks the 205th birthday of James Paget, a Victorian surgeon and Pathologist from Norfolk who was the first to recognise and describe what is today known as Paget’s Disease.
Paget’s Disease is a condition that predominantly (though not exclusively) affects the elderly, and is characterised by pain and deformity of the bones, deafness, fractures, and in rare cases bone cancer. Whilst the UK has the world’s largest of number of Paget’s Disease sufferers, public awareness of the disease is still surprisingly low.
From left to right: Prof. Roger Francis (Chairman of Paget’s Association), Dr Tanya Marshall, Prof. Jeremy Turner and Prof. William Fraser
Consultant Endocrinologist and one of three Clinical Directors of NNUH’s Paget’s Association Centre of Excellence Professor Jeremy Turner said: “Anybody who has ever broken a bone knows that bone pain is horrible. There are possibly thousands of people in the UK suffering with bone pain due to undiagnosed or untreated Paget’s Disease who are suffering avoidable pain. Paget’s Disease is highly treatable, there’s very good modern treatment available and our message needs to be that more people should be receiving it.”
The International Paget’s Disease Awareness Day on Friday will aim to raise both awareness and funds for the condition, as events take place across the country in an attempt to increase the profile of the disease. NNUH is one of 12 ‘Paget’s Association Centres of Excellence’ throughout the UK. As the home of James Paget himself Norfolk has perhaps a more prominent link to Paget’s Disease than anywhere else.
The clinical research and quality of care available at NNUH for patients with Paget’s Disease is always striving to improve, and the aim of Friday’s Awareness Day is to ensure that patients nationwide can become more aware of, and start to benefit from the treatments made available by the work of those at NNUH and other Paget’s Association Centres of Excellence around the country.