Days of Our Lives star Deidre Hall (Dr. Marlena Evans Black) is a spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. It's a commitment to a cause she is especially close to.
"My father had Alzheimer's," Hall says. "I saw what it did to him and what it did to the family."
Hall recalls the pain of watching her dad essentially 'disappear' day by day as the disease took hold and destroyed his memories until he no longer knew who his loved ones were.
With the baby boomers entering their senior years, we'll soon have the largest senior population in our history.
"And since Alzheimer's is largely a condition of older people," Hall says, "we can expect that we'll see more (of the disease in the coming years), and that's why it's so important that we diagnose it as early as possible."
There's a good reason for an early diagnosis: While there's no cure yet for Alzheimer's, researchers point out that early treatment appears to slow the progress of the disease, allowing for extended periods of relative normalcy, which would include keeping memories alive for longer periods.
MEMORY SCREENING
"This is why it's so important to have a memory screening," Hall says. "Memory loss isn't easy for people to acknowledge. Some people might say they don't want to know if they have any symptoms of what might be Alzheimer's. But for all the good reasons (we just cited), getting a memory screening is a first step toward learning the truth, and when you know the truth, you can make informed decisions about your life. It also makes all the difference for the families."
Hall explains that a memory screening is a noninvasive test administered by a health care professional that consists of questions and also asks the subject to perform certain tasks to assess the memory. The test results are not used to diagnose an illness, but rather to determine if a follow-up medical examination should be scheduled.
Since the AFA started the annual free
screenings three years ago, the numbers of people who have taken the test continue to rise. This does not surprise Hall.
"I believe that most people would like to know the truth. It can help you plan your future, not be overtaken by it."
