Thank you for your generosity in making a donation in memory of Penny Cariffe! She had Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. 

PSP is a neurodegenerative disorder with no known cause, treatment, or cure. It affects parts of the brain that control walking, balance, speech, swallowing, vision, cognition, judgment, personality, and behavior. Symptoms typically begin in the mid-60s, though symptoms can start in the 40s or 70s. Those with PSP live, on average, 5-8 years after symptom onset

PSP is about as common as ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) but people only hear the term “PSP” if someone in their community is affected by it. Brain Support Network runs a PSP support group in Northern California to help families coping with this challenging disease. Wendy and Katie joined our group after their mother Penny's diagnosis.

Since PSP can look like Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, or other disorders, it is difficult to make a diagnosis. The only way to confirm a PSP diagnosis is through brain donation. Penny’s daughters donated her brain so that they could receive a confirmed diagnosis. Actually, we all benefit from such generosity because the medical research it enables helps us all. Brain donation is the key to finding a cause, treatment, and cure for PSP and other neurological disorders.

Brain Support Network welcomes tax-deductible donations in memory of Penny Cariffe. Charitable contributions allow us to organize brain donations for other families coping with neurological disorders and to continue offering support to families coping with PSP. Donations can be made by credit card online here or by check mailed to Brain Support Network, PO Box 7264, Menlo Park, CA 94026.

Thank you for your generosity!