The Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association has designated the month of September, 2011 as the official National Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) Awareness Month, a month dedicated to spreading awareness and knowledge about CMT, the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. Furthermore, on September 24 2011 the CMTA and CMT organizations around the world will celebrate an international day dedicated to spreading CMT awareness.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, or CMT, causes weakness and muscle atrophy leading to loss of function in arms, hands, legs and feet. Although CMT affects an estimated 2.5 million worldwide most have never heard of it, including the medical community.
Therefore, many people have been misdiagnosed, or go undiagnosed. For this reason, CMT Awareness Month is so important and we are requesting your help in spreading awareness of CMT.
The following are some easy ways to celebrate CMT Awareness Month:
Posting CMT-related messages to family and friends on Facebook and/or substituting the CMTA picture for your profile picture on Facebook/Twitter and other social networking sites.
Simply writing a letter to friends/family telling them about CMT and the challenges you face.
Displaying CMT fact sheets, brochures and newsletters at libraries, pharmacies, schools, physician offices, and hospitals available from the CMTA at www.cmtausa.org
Displaying posters or launching balloons as awareness raising media.
Sending a press release to your local papers and organizing interviews with the media, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or write an article to submit to your local newspaper/journals, telling your personal story or interview a friend.
Involving teens in awareness and fundraising activities for volunteer service hours credit, such as football or wrestling teams.
Health Fair: Set up and staff an awareness table. To hand out brochures and answer questions about CMT.
Creating a database of physicians with CMT expertise
Filming videos that show how CMT effects you or family members to post on YouTube and the CMTA website www/cmtausa.org
For more information on what’s happening, visit www.wearethecmta.com, or become a fan of the official “Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association on “The Time is Now” Facebook Fan page (www.facebook.com/CMTAssociation) or call 1-800-■■■■■■■■.
Also, CMT Awareness Items are available at the CMTA Zazzle store. With the purchase of each item from the CMTA store 18% is donated for CMT research. First sign up at iGive.com (they contribute 8%) and choose the CMTA as your cause. Then click on Zazzle on the iGive homepage (they contribute 10%). Type in cmta in Zazzle’s search bar, and this will bring you to the cmta store. http://www.cmtausa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=342&catid=7&Itemid=61