Readers of the Dungog Chronicle have their say.

Pauline told me a group of teenagers needed an adult captain so they could form a team.

I agreed to do it, having only met one of them before.

Risk-taking? Yes!

Meeting them at the event, I was blown away by this awesome group of nine 16-year-olds (male and female).

Their great community spirit, their enthusiasm for helping a good cause and their beautiful caring friendships with each other.

We have young leaders in Dungog to be proud of.

Just when I thought I had seen all their gifts and talents, they would surprise me by coming up with another innovative way to raise some more money for Cancer Council.

Like eating a raw egg (!) or going up on stage to perform music.

The talented Dungog High School students who sang and played also provided phenomenal entertainment to keep the walkers going.

I won't embarrass you by naming names,but you know who you all are … and you rock! And your parents and families will know who you are too. These young people are an inspiration to Dungog Shire and beyond.

I ended up having a great experience at Relay for Life. Thank you to all the volunteers who organised a brilliant event and see you next March!

A new report just released has found that the number of people with dementia in Australia has soared to more than 400,000 - that’s one new case every 6 minutes – with an estimated cost to the community of more than $14 billion this year alone. 

If nothing is done to reduce the incidence of dementia, the cost will blow out to more than $18 billion by 2025, in today’s dollars, and more than double to $36 billion in less than 40 years as the number of people with dementia soars to an estimated 536,000 people by 2025 and a staggering 1.1 million people by 2056. 

In NSW, there is an estimated 138,700 people with dementia in 2017, which is expected to cost $4.7 billion this year. 

Dementia is one of the major chronic diseases of this century. It is already the second leading cause of death in Australia and we know that the impact is far reaching.

In the Maitland and Upper Hunter state electorates there is estimated to be 2,700 people living with dementia, which is expected to increase to an estimated 3,650 people by 2025 and 6,900 by 2056.

Despite the social and economic impact, we still do not have a fully-funded national strategy to provide better care and outcomes for people who are living with dementia now, nor are we taking risk reduction seriously in order to try to reduce the numbers of people living with dementia in the future.

The time for action is now. If we don’t do something, the cost will continue to grow to unsustainable levels - to more than $18 billion by 2025 and a staggering $36 billion by 2056.

Dementia can be a confronting, isolating, confusing and difficult disease to live with. But your readers living with dementia are not alone. We encourage your readers who have a diagnosis of dementia to contact Alzheimer’s Australia on the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. 

Our professional and compassionate staff can provide free advice and support for how to manage now and into the future. 

Send your news tips to dungog@fairfaxmedia.com.au and join the conversation at facebook.com/DungogChronicle/.