How baby boomers are affected by Alzheimer's disease (part 5)

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities



Alzheimer's Association


The federal government currently spends much less
money on Alzheimer research, prevention and a
cure than on other conditions such as cancer, heart
disease and HIV — $6 billion for cancer, $4 billion
for heart disease, $3 billion for HIV/AIDS. But just
$480 million for Alzheimer’s disease.
The consequences are plain to see.
America has made progress against cancer,
heart disease and HIV because of the federal
government’s commitment to combat them.
We can achieve the same results for Alzheimer’s
disease with a similar commitment to finding a
cure. With such a commitment by the federal
government, we can find ways to prevent, control
and cure this heartbreaking disease.
“I began to realize I wasn’t the gal
I used to be. It was different inside
my head. I would be talking with
someone on the telephone, then
hang up and ask myself, ‘Who was
that? What did we talk about?’
My husband says he was shocked and
knew something serious was going
on when we returned from a vacation
together, and I told him, ‘I really
had a great time in California. I’m so
sorry you couldn’t make it.’ ”
— Mary Ann Becklenberg, Indiana
If you think finding
a cure is expensive,
consider the cost facing
people living with the
disease and those taking
care of them. We’ve already seen the consequences of
underfunding. But there’s more: we are at risk of
losing a generation of scientists who are either
choosing other fields or leaving research altogether.
These brilliant minds are our greatest resource in
this fight, and we should be applying them to our
most difficult problems.

Alzheimer’s Disease Research: Genuine, Tangible, Hope
Despite the relatively low level of funding,
Alzheimer’s disease research has come so
far, particularly in the last 10 years. With the
cooperation of the medical and research
communities, we are at a tipping point. We have
the ideas, the technology and the will, but we do
not have the commitment from the federal
government. And we have reason for genuine and
tangible hope that will fundamentally change the
nature of the disease.
Every day brings us closer to a cure. An additional
commitment through a public-private partnership
could push us over the edge, make the difference
and deliver the results.
14
Scientists believe we
are at a tipping point
right now.
A commitment to a thorough, heartfelt and
innovative approach to finding results will give
us significant returns on our investment, relief to
those currently suffering from the disease and
peace of mind to millions of baby boomers who will
otherwise get the disease. And we can do it without
the government increasing its deficit. It’s how and
where the government spends that matters.
We should not and cannot forget or neglect those
who have this devastating and heartbreaking
disease today or who will get the disease tomorrow.
They need better care and better support services.
And their struggling, loving families need more help.
For the first time in history, there is real hope
in emerging science that we can overcome
Alzheimer’s disease and that the day is near when
Alzheimer’s does not need to be a death sentence

How baby boomers are affected by Alzheimer's disease (part 4)

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Alzheimer's Association

Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect those with the
disease. The toll Alzheimer’s takes on caregivers is
a burden financially, physically and emotionally. Just
imagine the tragedy of watching your loved one, the
light of your life, slowly disappearing day by day.
Yes, the financial cost — the cost of providing care
for a loved one — is significant and often beyond
what is affordable. And the hidden costs, the
sacrifices that have to be made by the caregiver,
are just as immense.
But this is nothing next to the human cost, the
toll Alzheimer’s takes each and every day: lost jobs,
lost savings, poor health, even lost lives due to
the economic, emotional and personal strain
caregivers endure.
8
It’s not just the people
with Alzheimer’s
who suffer. It’s also
their caregivers.
“She’d throw temper tantrums at the
dinner table, scream at me, take my
toys or bang on glass mirrors trying to
figure out why her reflection wouldn’t
answer her. My grandma’s behavior
was sometimes so bad, it was as if she
were the child, even though she was
70 years older than me. As a young
girl, sometimes I wasn’t sure if her
behavior was her actual personality
or if it was Alzheimer’s that made
her be mean to me and steal my
Beanie Babies.”
— Alissa Anderegg, California
9
• In 2009, nearly 11 million Americans
provided 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care
to family members and friends with
Alzheimer’s disease.
• The value of this unpaid care totaled almost
$144 billion in 2009 — more than what
Medicare and Medicaid spent combined on
those with Alzheimer’s.
• One--third of Alzheimer caregivers have been
providing care for five years or more.
• Two-thirds of Alzheimer caregivers rate the
emotional stress as high or very high.
• Alzheimer caregiving negatively affects
health, employment, income and financial
security.

Today, America spends $172 billion caring for
people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
With the aging of the baby boomers, Alzheimer’s
could bring this country to its financial knees.
Costs will reach over $1 trillion in 2050 — and
that’s not counting inflation.
Almost half of all Alzheimer costs are paid by
Medicare, where more than one in every six
Medicare dollars is spent on someone with
Alzheimer’s disease. Curing Alzheimer’s would
help save Medicare.

“Since her diagnosis, my mother has
steadily progressed and is no longer
able to carry out simple tasks, such
as washing dishes or putting on her
own shoes. Recently, she has started
using a cane to walk, and I find it
hard to imagine the day when she
will no longer be able to walk at all,
feed herself or even recognize who
I am. Yet I know that such a day
will come.”
— Xuan Quach, California
We are going to pay for
Alzheimer’s one way
or the other — now
or later.

We are going to pay for Alzheimer’s one way or
the other. The consequences of doing nothing will
be continuing to pay for caring — and we should
ensure more effective care for those with this
devastating disease. But if we commit now to
curing — to fund research that leads to a
breakthrough — we can save billions of dollars.

A commitment today to innovation, to finding a cure,
will yield the savings of tomorrow.

How baby boomers are affected by Alzheimer's disease (part 3)

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Alzheimer's Association

• An individual will live with the increasingly
devastating, debilitating and destructive
effects of Alzheimer’s for many years.
• Most people survive an average of four to
six years after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s —
but many live for as long as 20 years with
the disease.
• On average, 40 percent of a person’s years
with Alzheimer’s are spent in the most severe
stage of the disease — longer than any
other stage.
• By age 80, 4 percent of Americans enter a
nursing home. For people with Alzheimer’s,
75 percent end up in a nursing home by
age 80.

The Truth about Alzheimer’s that Every American Should Know

Alzheimer’s Kills
Right now, we are losing the battle against
Alzheimer’s disease. Death rates for other major
diseases — HIV, stroke, heart disease, prostate
cancer, breast cancer — are declining. Our
country’s significant commitment to combat
these conditions has saved lives.

But for Alzheimer’s disease, the federal
government’s efforts have been meager, and
deaths are skyrocketing. The consequence is
that over 80,000 Americans die each year of
Alzheimer’s — but only after a very long good-bye,
only after years of suffering endured by individuals,
family and friends. Today, there are no Alzheimer
survivors — none.

Alzheimer’s is not just
a little memory loss.
It eventually kills,
but not before it takes
everything away.
“Dawn is coming. The sun will rise
and peak. I now know my mother
never will rise again. But still, every
morning when the sun comes, I think
maybe this will be the day she will
know me. This will be the day I can
tell her one last time that I love her,
and she’ll hear me. But in my heart,
I know it’s over.”
— Rob George, Texas

America means progress, solutions, results. But,
Alzheimer’s disease — the sixth-leading cause of
death in America — remains the only one of the
top 10 causes of death without an identified way to
prevent it, cure it or slow its progression.
As the baby boomers begin reaching age 65,
this means more deaths from Alzheimer’s, more
heartbreak. As the Baby Boom Generation ages,
the situation is only going to deteriorate — as
horribly as the disease itself — unless and until we
demand a cure.

How baby boomers are affected by Alzheimer's disease (part 2)

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Alzheimer's Association

By 2030, the U.S. population aged 65 and over is
expected to double, meaning there will be more and
more Americans with Alzheimer’s — as many as
16 million by mid-century, when there will be nearly
1 million new cases every year.
One in eight baby boomers will get the disease after
they turn 65. At age 85 that risk increases to nearly
one in two. And if they don’t have it, chances are
they will likely be caring for someone who does.
For many baby boomers, Alzheimer’s was a disease
they saw in their parents or grandparents. Not
anymore. Alzheimer’s disease is now their disease,
their crisis, their epidemic.

The Truth about Alzheimer’s that Every American Should Know

Alzheimer’s disease is not just a little memory
loss. It eventually kills you, but not before it takes
everything away — slowly, gradually,
painstakingly, inevitably.

This devastating, deteriorating and debilitating
disease is the ultimate thief — thief of memories,
thief of independence, thief of control, thief of time
and ultimately thief of life. Alzheimer’s robs people
of all bodily functions and eventually their humanity.
Day by day, Alzheimer’s strips away individuality,
autonomy and independence. It means the loss of
anything and everything you have ever known.

Try to imagine not being able to take care
of yourself.
Can’t dress yourself.
Can’t shower yourself.
Can’t go to the bathroom by yourself.
That’s Alzheimer’s disease.
“She has become fascinated with
‘the lady in the mirror.’

At first, she
didn’t recognize this lady as her own
reflection. It scared her that ‘the lady’
was mocking her by following her
around and imitating everything
she did.”
— Eugene Fields, Ohio

Try to imagine not
being able to take care
of yourself.

How baby boomers are affected by Alzheimer's disease

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Alzheimer's Association

This year, the first baby boomers turn 65 —
when the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
significantly increases. While Alzheimer’s is not
normal aging, age is the greatest risk factor for
the disease.

This means baby boomers are its next target.
With the first wave of baby boomers reaching age
65, there is an impending wave of new cases and
new families that will have to face the devastating,
deteriorating, debilitating and heartbreaking
disease known as Alzheimer’s — a progressive
and fatal brain disorder that causes problems with
memory, thinking and behavior.

Eventually, Alzheimer’s kills, but not before it takes
everything away from you. It steals a person’s
memories, judgment and independence. It robs
spouses of lifetime companions and children of
parents and grandparents. It destroys the security
of families and depletes millions of dollars annually
from family and government budgets.

It is expected an estimated 10 million baby boomers
will develop Alzheimer’s. Of those who reach
the age of 85, nearly one in two will get it. And
because there is no way to prevent, cure or even
slow the progression of the disease, every one of
these 10 million baby boomers will either die with
Alzheimer’s or from it.

And it’s not just the person with Alzheimer’s
who suffers — it’s also the caregivers. Caring
for someone with Alzheimer’s disease negatively
affects the caregiver’s health, employment, income
and financial security. But that is nothing compared
to the human cost — the toll it takes watching a
loved one slowly disappear.

Unless we find a treatment or a cure, Alzheimer’s
will become the defining disease of the Baby Boom
Generation. They will be Generation Alzheimer’s.
Introduction
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