Hey everyone, you know how we want a celebrity to focus on our situation, well I'm going to e-mail Ellen Degeneres & tell her that next month is National Alzheimers Awareness month, but I need the statistics that one of you posted (& of course I can't remember where I saw it) It's the statistic comparing the # of breast cancer diagnosis to the dementia diagnosis. We watch her show quite frequently & she does very nice things for causes & people in need. Maybe we should all e-mail her to get our point across. If you want to-mail her just google her TV show & when you get to her home page go to the bottom of the page & click on the Email Ellen link. I think it's worth a try. What do you think?
ElaineH, I think these are the statistic you are refering to. They are in the thread "Wouldn't It be Nice?"
Alzheimer's Disease: Number of Patients = 5.3 million Cost of care per year = $172 Billion New Cases per year = 454,000 Mortality = 100% fatal Unpaid care by caregivers = $144 Billion
Breast Cancer: New Cases per year = 261,000 Mortality = 2.5 Million "survivors".
Yesterday the Austin American Statesman had a 20-something page section all on pink paper. I couldn't help but think wouldn't it be wonderful if November 2011 they had a purple one??
I've already posted a long post on what I think when I hear the word Alzheimer's instead of the word Dementia. I think we are shooting ourselves in the foot. And since my husband doesn't have Alzheimer's but is dying from Dementia anyway, I sort of feel hurt about being intentionally left out.
I have known several people who stress that their LO doesn't have Alzheimer's...they have Dementia as if it isn't as bad as Alz. The end result is the same and lots of symptoms seem to be the same from what I have read. Maybe if we said Alzheimer's Dementia more people would understand, but I doubt it!
Starling, I hear what you are saying & I totally understand, BUT unfortunately for all the dementia patients, the general public recognizes the word Alzheimers (even though they usually don't have a clue to the extent of the disease) more so than the word dementia. And is it still true that the dianosis of Alzheimers can't be made until an autopsy of the brain is done?
I always love when I see someone looked shocked by the suggestion that their loved one has Alzheimer's. They vehemently refute the statement by pointing out that it is "only" dementia....like that connotation is less "disgusting" than the dreaded Alzheimer's diagnosis. I just smile sweetly and say..."well thank goodness for that!" Idiots.....
Researchers are on the cusp of validating biomarkers for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's. See here: http://www.alz.org/research/science/earlier_alzheimers_diagnosis.asp
These biomarkers include brain imaging (PIB PET scan), proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (tau and beta-amyloid), proteins in blood and genetic risk profiling (APP, PS1, Ps2, and APOE4).
Autopsy may technically be the only way to definitively diagnosis at the moment, but I think that is going to change very soon.
And well it should! Again, here is where more funding for research would help & I guess it also takes time. Of course it's too late for us, but maybe not for our children who may also be at risk.
It's difficult to keep the different dementias separate. My husband doesn't have alzheimer disease either. He has been diagnosed with the behavior variant of FTD (bvftd). I think the only way to get across that there are other degenerative brain diseases is to say "alzheimer and related dementias". Most people have no clue that there are other types of dementia related illnesses. When my husband was diagnosed with FTD, I had never heard of it. Now I know way more than I want to.