Alzheimer's Disease: Of Course You Want to Know

Contributed by: Dennis Fortier, President, Medical Care Corporation
________________________________________________

In the 90's, it became popular to avoid confronting an unpleasant diagnosis by adopting the mindset that "there is nothing to be done about Alzheimer's disease so I would rather not know". This thinking is dangerously out of date and needs to be brought forward.

I see headlines posing the "would you want to know" question quite regularly. For example, this one on CBS news last week had high exposure.

Journalists perpetrate old thinking merely by asking the question. What we really need is definitive headlines clarifying the importance of early detection.

I was pleased that the resounding answer to the question in the CBS story was "YES". I will say that the argument put forth supporting the answer could have been much stronger based on the full compendium of current research.

The best reason for getting a timely diagnosis of Alzheimer's is that current treatments can delay the progression of the disease and afford the patient a longer period of high quality living.

No comments :

Post a Comment