Maria Shriver Takes On Azheimer’s With ABC News
Chances are you already know someone afflicted by Alzheimer’s Disease.
In fact, every 70 seconds someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with this debilitating condition.
But did you know that women are at the epicenter of this growing epidemic?
“Sixty-percent of the people who get it are women,? said Maria Shriver, president of A Women?s Nation. ?They’re also doing the caretaking, and millions of these women are also working full-time.”
The First Lady of California knows the struggle of caring for a loved one with the disease all too well.
Her father was diagnosed in 2003 when little was known about this silent killer, which is why Shriver, in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association and ABC News, has introduced “The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Takes On Alzheimer’s” in hopes of educating Americans on the startling facts about the disease.
“It’s a tremendous burden on families,? said Ann O?Leary, executive director of the Berkeley Center on Health. ?We estimate that families are spending $56,000 a year they’re paying out of pocket.”
Currently there is no cure, but experts say money for research is severely underfunded.
“Heart disease and Cancer get $6 billion, $5 billion, and Alzheimer’s gets $500 million.? said Shriver. ?In fact, it’s going to be Alzheimer’s in the next several years that’s going to get those people way before Cancer or heart disease.”
According to The Shriver Report, the U.S. will spend $20 trillion over the next 40 years treating Alzheimer’s; one reason why they are now asking Congress to pass the “National Alzheimer’s Project Act” to create a national strategy for dealing with this ongoing problem.
