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More than 5 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer's disease.
Michele Papka has spent almost 25 years dealing with people who have Alzheimer's or mild cognitive
impairment and there's a statistic that bothers her every bit as much.
It's the number of people who have Alzheimer’s and don't know it either because they're afraid
to find out or because their doctor is keeping it from them.
Papka told me: ‘Less than half of people with Alzheimer's Disease are ever told of
their diagnosis.
It’s a scary statistic.
The bottom line is the majority of people are either not coming for medical attention
or the ones who are seeking medical attention aren’t being told of their diagnosis.”
So today my topic is denial and diagnosis because knowing is better than not knowing
and the longer you wait to address your cognitive decline the fewer options you'll have.
Hello, my name is Tony Dearing.
I write an award-winning column on brain health for NJ.com and the Star-Ledger and I operate
GoCogno.com, a website devoted to the needs and concerns of people with mild cognitive
impairment.
My column this week is based on an interview with Michelle Papka, the founder and director
of The Cognitive and Research Center of New Jersey.
When people are concerned they may have a cognitive problem, she's the one they go to
for diagnosis and help putting together a treatment plan, getting all the right specialists
involved and dealing with the emotional, psychological and support they need.
Papka talked a lot to me about the importance of early diagnosis and how many people aren’t
getting that, in many cases because their doctors are telling them.
A 2015 report by the Alzheimer’s Association found that only 45% of Alzheimer’s patients
or their family are being told of the diagnosis.
Doctors may feel that there's nothing they can do about it and telling the patient will
only stigmatize them.
Many doctors also feel that they're honoring the wishes of the patient not to know, but
Papka was very clear about this.
When patients are surveyed, they say they want to know.
My site is devoted to people with mild cognitive impairment, so if you're watching this video
you probably have a diagnosis, and even though that diagnosis can be isolating and frightening
and hard to hear, you're still better off having it.
Papka says there are many reasons why, but here are three big ones.
First it may not be Alzheimer's.
In fact only about 50% of people diagnosed with MCI turn out to have Alzheimer's.
For the other half, it's something else — often treatable.
Here's a list of things that can cause cognitive loss, including depression, sleep disorders,
a vitamin deficiency or a bad reaction to medications.
Second, an early diagnosis gives you the option of participating in a clinical trial where
you have a chance to receive an experimental treatment that may help you.
Third, that early knowledge allows you to have a treatment plan and have specialists
like Papka put together a medical team around your specific needs and help you find resources
in your community.
You can find out more about this by reading my column and there's a link to it in the
show notes and I also invite you to come to my website, GoCogno.com, where you’ll find
much more in the way of information and resources for people with mild cognitive impairment.
Thanks for joining me today and I hope to see you again next week.
Until then, as always, be kind to your mind.