When we received Jackie's diagnosis of Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Degeneration (bvFTD) in February 2017, our immediate goal was to ensure that Jackie continued to lead a purposeful, fun and loving life.  We quickly extended our family mission to include the following:  

• Raise awareness for Frontotemporal Degeneration and educate ourselves and others.
• Raise funds to support AFTD and their mission of creating awareness and funding research in hope of a cure for Frontotemporal Degeneration.

This year has proved a challenge with Jackie's continual disease progression, but we continue to push forward in support of our family mission and AFTD's mission.  Here's what we've been up to:

• Team Jack Attack's 2017 and 2018 fundraising campaigns have raised over $64,000 for AFTD.  We are asking for your help in pushing us over the $100,000 mark this year! 
• On November 17, 2018, 45 people ran/walked/crawled our way to the finish line of the Rothman 8K as Team Jack Attack in support of Team AFTD.  We took on the streets of Philadelphia together as a united front to raise awareness for FTD. 
• Kim became a member of the AFTD Board of Directors in May.  Her first meeting was at the annual AFTD Education Conference which was held in Los Angeles in May.
• Joe became an AFTD Support Group Co-Facilitator in July.
• In June, Joe and Kim attended the FTD Caregiver Conference sponsored by the Penn FTD Center.
• Matthew and Christopher continue to develop their personal and business relationships. Their work accounts for most of our fundraising dollars.
• In September, our family will host our 2nd annual Dollars for Dumplings fundraiser - a Food for Thought event where we will serve up food and FTD facts. (The event held on September 29th raised over $4,000)
• On November 23rd, Team Jack Attack will hit the streets of Philadelphia again for the 2019 Rothman 8K.  Want to you join us? Click the button under our photo to create your personal page and start fundraising.  After you have created your page email us at jwpang1@gmail.com and we will forward you a discount code for your race bib, the list of prizes for our top 3 fundraisers and information about our post race party. Can't join us?  We encourage you to create a personal page and fundraise to help spread awareness.

 All donations are tax deductible and every penny counts!  Please consider generously donating to support AFTD’s mission of raising awareness and funds to one day find a cure for this awful disease.  They help to educate and provide support to families like ours and have been a tremendous resource as we deal with the everyday challenges that FTD offers.  Please share with your contacts via email, text and social media to spread the word and continue our mission to #EndFTD.

What is FTD?

Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects approximately 60,000 people in the US. It is considered an early-onset dementia, typically striking between the ages of 40 and 65, and initially presenting as changes in either behavior, language or movement. It is often misdiagnosed as a midlife crisis or as a psychiatric illness, due to limited awareness of FTD and the confusing early symptoms. The behavioral changes and early onset of FTD are often very disruptive to families, as persons diagnosed lose the ability to hold down jobs and family members take on increased caregiving responsibilities.  Unfortunately, no current treatments slow or stop the progression of the disease.  Average life expectancy is 7 to 13 years after the start of symptoms.  

What is AFTD?

The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration is the premier source for information, support and resources for persons diagnosed with FTD and caregivers of those diagnosed in the United States and Canada. Outside of supporting persons affected by FTD, AFTD also provides grants for research into FTD and works on advocacy at the state, national and international level. AFTD organizes an annual conference for FTD and provides educational materials for healthcare professionals to learn about the diagnosis and treatment of FTD and its subtypes. If you would like to learn more about FTD and AFTD, we encourage you to visit AFTD's website at the address below:

http://www.theaftd.org/