Last Updated on June 4, 2024
June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness month and the numbers are alarming. Not only is it the sixth leading cause of death, but every 67 seconds, someone new in the U.S. develops the disease.
For the families left to care for their loved ones, it can be an isolating and frustrating experience. Molly Middleton Meyer lost both parents to Alzheimer’s and now her groundbreaking work is bringing hope, peace and happiness to Alzheimer’s patients and their families. “We can’t bring them back but we can go with them,” she says.
Step inside one of Molly’s facilitation sessions to watch a group of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients come alive through poetry. Yes, poetry!
Here are some more concerning facts and figures about Alzheimer’s disease:
— According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5.2 million Americans are living with the disease, which is now the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. The number of men and women with Alzheimer’s will continue to increase dramatically as as the baby boomer generation ages.
— Nearly 50 percent of people in their 80s develop Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia. Two-thirds of those afflicted are women.
— Deaths from Alzheimer’s disease increased 68 percent between 2000 and 2010, while deaths from other major diseases decreased.
— Every 67 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s. By 2050 someone in the U.S. will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s every 33 seconds.
— Alzheimer’s disease is the most expensive condition in the nation. In 2014, the direct costs to American society of caring for those with Alzheimer’s will total an estimated
— $214 billion. Alzheimer’s will cost an estimated $1.2 trillion in 2050.
— In 2013, 15.5 million caregivers provided an estimated 17.7 billion hours of unpaid care,valued at more than $220 billion.
