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Currently in America there are more than five million people living with Alzheimer’s. In North Carolina, that number is well over 160,000.
Alzheimer’s is not only devastating but fatal. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only cause of death among the top 10 without a way to prevent, stop or even slow its progression.

Alzheimer’s is also one of the most expensive conditions in the nation, with nearly one in every five Medicare dollars being spent on people with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.

Another sobering fact is that for every $16,500 spent on care and support for people living with Alzheimer’s, only $100 is spent on research to prevent or treat this disease. As a society we must recognize that research is the best hope — our only hope — for finding a cure.

As a volunteer ambassador, I represent the Alzheimer’s Association to our elected officials. I recently joined 1,200 others from across the country at the Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C., where we appealed to Congress for action on Alzheimer’s.

I want to personally thank Rep. Virginia Foxx for meeting with us to discuss the Alzheimer’s crisis. I hope we can count on Foxx’s continued leadership and support. Only through adequate funding and a solid implementation of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease will we meet its goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025.
Deb Burcombe, Winston Salem

http://www.journalnow.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/the-readers-forum-tuesday-letters/article_2084880a-fdcc-509f-9011-3c5810f0da0b.html