Tayside PMR & GCA Support Receives Big Lottery Fund Award

A lottery grant of more than £3,000 will enable a Dundee support group reach out to sufferers of a condition for which there is no known cure and no known cause.

Tayside PMR & GCA Support was presented with a certificate confirming its £3,590 cash award yesterday after a successful application to the Big Lottery Fund Grant.

The group provides support for sufferers of Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) and/or the more serious form of the illness, Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA).

Both are inflammatory rheumatic conditions which tend to strike people over the age of 55 but the average age of sufferers is 70, a generation brought up not to complain.

As a result, there is little support for PMR and GCA which, in some cases, can be very debilitating, with GCA even leading to blindness or a stroke if not treated properly.

Group chairman, Jean Miller, said, "Some figures say that one in 143 people over 55 suffer from PMR or GCA so there are significant numbers out there.

"Much of this money, more than £2,000, will go on advertising and that will make a big difference in helping us to reach the people and offering them support and advice."

The group was set up last year and meets every third Tuesday from 11am until 12.15pm in the lounge of Dundee Parish Church (St Mary's).

Anyone wishing to get in touch can do so through the meetings, or by phoning Mrs Miller on 01382 778596, or by sending an email to

Source: Republished by kind courtesy of 'The Courier'.

Date: 18th April 2007.

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