November: Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

03 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by Ann Napoletan in Advocacy and Awareness, ALZ Assn - National, Facts & Figures, Helpful Resources, November-National ALZ Awareness Month, Petition, Research, Ruminations, USAgainstAlzheimer's, Washington

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Alzheimers advocacy, alzheimers awareness, dementia awareness, national alzheimers awareness month

November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month – a great time for everyone to help shine a spotlight on this impending national health crisis. It’s estimated that 5.3 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s, and 4% of those cases qualify as younger onset, attacking people in their 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s.

The Facts

AD is the 6^th leading cause of death in the United States (5^th among those over age 65). It’s also the only one of the top 10 causes of American deaths that can’t be prevented, cured, or even slowed. Simply put, there are no survivors.

Between 2000 and 2010, Alzheimer’s deaths rose 68% while deaths from all other major diseases, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, and HIV, have dropped.

Big numbers? Well, consider this:

Within the next 12 years, there will be 7.2 million adults, age 65 and older, living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Unless there is a major medical breakthrough, it’s projected that 13.8 million older Americans (age 65 and over) will have Alzheimer’s by 2050.

Cost of Care

The cost of care is astronomical and growing every day. Estimates indicate that this year alone, the direct costs of caring for those living with Alzheimer’s will total $203 billion. At the rate we’re going, without significant progress toward preventing or treating the disease, costs will rise to $1.2 trillion (in current dollars) by 2050.

Research Dollars

Research funding isn’t where it needs to be – not by a long shot. The National Institutes of Health spends over $6 billion/year on cancer research, over $4 billion/year on heart research, and over $3 billion/year on HIV/AIDS research. Less than $500 million/year is spent on Alzheimer’s – the disease that’s shaping up to be the health crisis of our generation.

Government can’t afford additional funding? Well, the alternative only exacerbates that situation. Should we reach the numbers mentioned above by 2050, we’re looking at a 500% increase in Medicare and Medicaid spending. Now who wants to talk about breaking the bank????

Facing the Fear and Raising Awareness

The fact is, there’s a generation of Alzheimer’s caregivers who are terrified about what the future may hold. I know because I’m one of them. Am I destined to follow in my mother’s footsteps? The thought of putting my daughter through that is – well, there’s no doubt – it’s my worst nightmare.

The time is NOW, not tomorrow, next week, or next year. Sign a petition, contact your lawmakers, support organizations like USAgainstAlzheimer’s and the Alzheimer’s Association, and TALK ABOUT IT every time an opportunity presents itself.

We need to get this issue out in the forefront and do everything we can to keep it there for as long as necessary, so that someday we won’t need an Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.

Source for statistics and graphs: http://www.alz.org

Walking to #ENDALZ

17 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by Ann Napoletan in 4M, Advocacy and Awareness, ALZ Assn Central Ohio, Events, Facts & Figures, Mom, Walk to End ALZ

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Walk to End Alzheimer's

Well, it’s that time of year again. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s has moved from June to September, and apparently that has thrown me off! I’m just now – with the Walk less than a month away – starting my fundraising in earnest, so I have a lot of catching up to do.

4M Strikes Again!

This year’s event will take place on September 14, one day shy of 9 months since my beautiful mother was set free of this horrible disease. Last year, we raised $2,670, and I would love nothing more than to honor her memory by beating that – even if by just one dollar! If you can help, please visit Marilyn’s Mighty Memory Makers on the web to donate.

This is a disease that can strike any family – it doesn’t discriminate, and almost all of us have been or know someone who has been personally touched by its wrath.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Consider this …. By 2025, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease is estimated to reach 7.1 million—a 40 percent increase from the 5 million age 65 and older currently affected. By 2050, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease may nearly triple, from 5 million to a projected 13.8 million, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent, slow or stop the disease.

Based on those numbers, there’s no question that time is of the essence. Researchers are making advances every single day, but funding is just not there yet. In 2011, the NIH spent $3 billion on research into AIDS, $4.3 billion on heart disease, and $5.8 billion for cancer… Compare those figures to what is being spent annually on ALZ research… less than $500 million.

Mortality Rates are Rising

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Yet ALZ is the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent it, cure it or even slow its progression. Deaths from Alzheimer’s increased 68 percent between 2000 and 2010, while deaths from other major diseases, including the number one cause of death (heart disease), decreased.

If you would like to help, please visit Marilyn’s Mighty Memory Makers on the web. It only take a few clicks to make a contribution, and every little bit helps.

Thank you!!!

Take a Moment to Make a Difference

21 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by Ann Napoletan in Advocacy and Awareness, Facts & Figures, Research, Washington

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USAgainstAlzheimer’s brings us an action page to make contacting lawmakers quick and easy. Let Congress know the urgency of our issue, and stress the need to increase funding to $2 billion by 2018. It’s not an option… the epidemic is coming unless we make the investment and make it soon…. click this link to sign and send your letter. the process takes no more than 2 or 3 minutes and your voice does* make a difference!*

Alzheimer’s robs its victims of memories, relationships, and dignity. Scientists say we can prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025, and President Obama has made that the national goal – but Congress has yet to invest the needed resources to hit that target.

Members of Congress will soon take up bills that will decide Alzheimer’s research funding levels. Alzheimer’s has been plastered across the news, and we’ve heard people across the country and around the world – from Hugh Jackman to British Prime Minister David Cameron, from Elizabeth Warren to Susan Collins to Newt Gingrich – call for more research funding. But it won’t be enough until Congress hears from constituents like you that we must take an aggressive approach to end Alzheimer’s once and for all.

Tell your members of Congress to urge the Appropriations Committee to double the amount of funding for Alzheimer’s research next year and ramp up funding to $2 billion over the next five years.

Alzheimer’s threatens not only our families, it also threatens the financial health of our country. The costs to American families and taxpayers exceed $200 billion every year. According to RAND, Alzheimer’s is more costly than cancer or heart disease. Over 5 million Americans are living with the disease, and that number is expected to triple by 2050 unless we do everything in our power to stop it. Left unchecked, the annual cost of care for Alzheimer’s patients will near or exceed $1 trillion in the coming decades.

The burden of Alzheimer’s and its associated costs is one that we cannot bear any longer. With adequate resources, research can and will end this burden. Congress must do its part, and commit to bold action to end this crisis. We’ve been waiting too long for Congress to act – they can’t ignore thousands of us calling for ACTION.

Add your voice now – your members of Congress need to hear from you. Tell them to urge the Appropriations Committee to double the investment in Alzheimer’s research this year, and to increase that funding level to $2 billion by 2018.

To end Alzheimer’s, we’ll have to be bold and courageous – and we have to insist that our leaders share our courage. Only when we join together as an engaged and enraged community will we stop this disease. Urge Congressional action NOW.

Thank you,

George Vradenburg
Chairman and Co-Founder
USAgainstAlzheimer’s

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More than 350 leading Alzheimer’s researchers agree that we can prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025 – and it could even be sooner if critical investments and reforms are made. We must SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE funding for Alzheimer’s research in the next 5 years and we must DRAMATICALLY SHRINK the time it takes to get new, safe therapies to market.

USAgainstAlzheimer’s is a community of enraged and engaged individuals who have been touched by Alzheimer’s disease and are committed to achieving the bold and attainable goal of ending Alzheimer’s.