This article really got to me. I keep thinking about it. It totally discounts what the family caregiver provides. Other articles are just silly, but this one completely ignores the caregiving contribution. That makes me mad. I don't like to be dissed.
(1)
Report

Besides what I wrote before, I want to add that we all die at some point, but at least we should have our minds as intact and functioning as possible for the full length of our lives. Ergo, we should consider dementia illnesses as one of the most worrisome of illnesses and thus continue (or put more of) our focus on curing (reversing) and protecting from it. QED.
(0)
Report

Agree with all the comments. Yes, idiotic conclusions. As a care-giver for a husband with Alzheimer's, I don't believe those cost statements nor the statistics of number of deaths as doctors say most Alz patients do not die of that disease but of other causes.
(0)
Report

I agree with all your posts so far - My mother had alzheimers and I really do believe that no one is taking into consideration the real cost of this disease. I feel for the most part no one even knows how many family members are doing the caregiving and these numbers are not being acknowledged by anyone. And it is difficult to put a dollar figure on a person's time who receives no wages which is what mostly happens...especially in those families where they have very little money. What good is worrying about a healthy heart when you don't even know you are alive....which was pretty much the state of my mother a few months before her death. Alzheimer's a very cruel disease ~ so much suffering involved all around and I wonder if anyone really understands this disease yet.....some of .the meds made my mother worse and possibly hastened her death.
(0)
Report

good comments.
(0)
Report

I am a little confused on which they think is more important the alz and cancer which affects the quality of life for not only the patient but for everyone taking care of them and living with them, or the heart disease which can shorten your life. I am a great believer in quality before quantity so I dont want my heart fixed if my mind is going or gone.
(1)
Report

The cost of Alzheimers would also be greater not only if the unrealized costs of family caregiver was taken into account and if there was as much research into dementias as there is into the cancers. What an idiotic article. Besides, cost is not the important factor for a person's worry. Rather the effect on one's quality of life is a more important factor.
(0)
Report

I bet the Alzheimer's costs do not include caregiver time. When it takes a person or a whole family of people to care for one individual 24/7 for 8-12 years the hidden costs can be very expensive. The article probably only deals with what is charged for medical bills.
(0)
Report

So what's the difference? They are all at the top and we need to keep ourselves healthy and take preventative measures.
(0)
Report

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter