The Alzheimer's Project

tv show

poster for The Alzheimer's Project

5 total episodes

-

1 seasons

First Aired May 10, 2009

Overview

Alzheimer's disease is the second-most-feared illness in America, after cancer. Is our anxiety justified? HBO presents this multi-part campaign that looks at the causes, symptoms, treatments and possible cures for this insidious disease.

tv poster

The Memory Loss Tapes

Season 1 - Episode 2 - 2h 30m

Air Date

May 10, 2009

Overview

There are currently 10 million Americans providing 8.5 billion hours of unpaid care to people with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, according to an estimate from the Alzheimer's Association. Seventy percent of people with Alzheimer's live at home, cared for by family and friends. As Bill Couturié explains: "Not only is it very expensive to pay for care in a nursing home, but the patient is someone you love a lot - a mother, father, spouse. Someone who has taken care of you, and so it's only natural to want to take care of them." Alzheimer's can take a great toll on the physical and emotional well-being not just of the patient, but of the caregiver as well. "It's not uncommon for the caregiver to die before the patient. It's a 24/7 job and often the caregiver has no help.