According to the Alzheimer's Association, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer's disease is growing — and growing fast. An estimated 5.5 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease.
Of the estimated 5.5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's dementia in 2017, an estimated 5.3 million are age 65 and older and approximately 200,000 individuals are under age 65 and have younger-onset Alzheimer's.
· One in 10 people age 65 and older (10 percent) has Alzheimer's dementia.
· Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women.
· African-Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer's or other dementias as older whites.
· Hispanics are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer's or other dementias as older whites.
Because of the increasing number of people age 65 and older in the United States, particularly the oldest-old, the number of new cases of Alzheimer's and other dementias is projected to soar. Today, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's dementia every 66 seconds. By mid-century, someone in the United States will develop the disease every 33 seconds
The CareGiversDepot is a web-based community created based on my experience as caregiver for my mom who has Alzheimer’s Disease. Like so many others their loved ones aren't formally diagnosed initially they are diagnosed way after the disease had taken your loved one away and the body is left behind. Some would call it "The long Goodbye". My family takes on the tasks alone without training. Taking care of your parent as a caregiver is a labor of love. Not having a background in the medical field, I found that coordinating long term care and get answers for care to be difficult and frustrating because of the lack of resources available online.
I created "The CareGiversDepot" as a centralized place to share stories, tips, and advice from my daily dealings with this horrible disease. I will be as straightforward as possible. I will also share some things I have learned that I wish I knew years ago which would help someone else.
There is no cure right now and there is no dictionary nor manual with the clear answers that we as caregivers desire. Let us all as caregivers "Fight the Memory Thief" together.