Author: Jean Krautzel, Director of Memory Care Services

November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and we here at Marquis are excited to use this month to launch our new Monthly Memory Care Education and Support Series!

Each year the Alzheimer’s Association publishes its facts and figures report, and the statistics are often astounding to those who are not familiar with Alzheimer’s Disease and the prevalence of diagnosis in our nation. In a brief overview:

• 5 million Americans over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s Disease
• 1 in 3 Seniors die with an Alzheimer’s or another Dementia
• Alzheimer’s Disease kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined

While these facts and figures can be alarming, as the saying goes, “knowledge is power” and educating ourselves can greatly improve the quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and their care partners. The detection of early stages of Alzheimer’s disease is proven to aid in access to Alzheimer’s disease treatment, support, education, maintaining independent functioning longer and earlier onboarding of care interventions. Very often, Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis comes long after an individual and/or their caregivers have been experiencing the signs of a potential concern.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common types of dementia. It is a progressive disease that affects a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. Alzheimer’s disease also involves and effects parts of the brain that control memory, and speech.

Some of the most common questions asked are, “When should I be concerned about memory/cognitive loss and what is normal aging?” We all have forgotten why we went into the closet and what item we went to retrieve. At one time or another we may have been unable to find our keys or locate an item that we frequently use. While this can cause alarm as we or our loved one’s age, it is important to know the difference between being “forgetful” and the early warning signs that there may be an issue with cognition. One of the first and most important markers to consider is when any signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease impact daily life and day to day functioning of an individual.

Be sure to continue to stay tuned into our monthly Alzheimer’s education series here on our blog.

If you are looking to learn more about Alzheimer’s we encourage you to visit The Alzheimer’s Association resource on Memory Loss and 10 Early signs of Alzheimer’s can be found here:

Memory Loss & 10 Early Signs of Alzheimer’s | alz.org