Is anyone ever embarrassed to say that a family member has Alzheimer's?

That's a pretty tacky response, although it could just be that the "friend" was merely expressing relief that her friend didn't have it.

I've found that most people have little knowledge of the real issues; for them any sign of dementia is in their own mind an indication of Alzheimers. They haven't researched it or know that there are dozens of kinds of dementia.

I suppose it's like other dreaded diseases... "there but for fortune go you or I" and they're relieved it's not the "I" or "me" in their vocabulary.

Perhaps you could see this as an opportunity to enlighten her and explain more about dementia and the fact that causes are still being researched by medical and scientific practitioners.

I'm a bit the opposite. I wish I could tell everyone that my mother had dementia and not guard it like it is some secret we need to keep. So many people have dementia now. There are three people who sit around me in church who have moderate dementia. There may be others I don't know about.

I often do tell people my mother has dementia when she is not around. It explains a lot about why I am here doing what I do, and why she can be so odd. People I tell are older, so tend to be accepting of it.