Letter to the editor: Support Alzheimer's research

The Alzheimer’s Association just released 2020 figures. More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. The disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Between 2000 and 2018, deaths from heart disease have decreased 7.8%, while deaths from Alzheimer’s have increased 146%.

Caretaking of people with Alzheimer’s is very expensive. Medical research has been unsuccessful to date and needs more research funding to discover cures. Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation $305 billion in 2020, and many families will be broken.

I want to thank U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, for supporting the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Act. You can find the Alzheimer’s Association 2020 facts and figures at www.alz.org/facts. If you are a caregiver and need help, call the association’s 24-hour helpline at 800-272-3900.

Please consider participating in the 2020 Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Sept. 19 at Twin Lakes Park in Latrobe. The walk raises funds for Alzheimer’s research.

Don and Sara Belt

Unity