Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Lots of things I've been meaning to mention

In the hustle and bustle of the holidays there were a couple of things I have forgotten to write about -- imagine that!

Still Alice, by Lisa Genova -- get this book if you know someone that has Alzheimer's or know a care giver for someone with Alzheimer's. I received this book for Christmas and once you start reading it you cannot put it down. "Alice" is a Harvard professor who is diagnosed with Early on-set Alzhiemer's. Lisa takes you on Alice's journey from the diagnosis to the latter stages of the disease. It is so real, it is hard to believe that Alice is a fictional character. I had to actually laugh out loud when I read some of the things Alice was dealing with because it was so real. Her inability to talk on the phone was one of them -- I have such a hard time with that because I have a problem following the conversation. But, it is definitely worth the read -- don't wait --get it now. You can order from Amazon.com. After you read it, I'd love to hear what you thought. Thanks to Lisa Genova for such a wonderful book.

Understanding Dementia and Alzheimer’s: What Every Health Care Provider Should Know -- is a one-day educational event for those who want to gain a greater understanding of dementia-related conditions. It is being sponsored by Georgia Southern University and it is in Savannah Georgia on February 1, 2008. More information can be found here: http://ceps.georgiasouthern.edu/conted/dementia&aging.html Even if you are not a "health care provider" and you are interested in learning more about Alzheimer's you might want to check out this event.

More soon I promise!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My mom was diagnosed with eoad a year and a half ago. I just finished 'Still Alice' and found it very informative - though also quite sad. One point I wondered about was the very last section about a new alzheimer's medication showing favorable results in trials. Do you know if the drug mentioned in this chapter really does exist? By the way, thanks so much for your blog. I find it to be very helpful in getting an idea of what my mom and so many others are going through. I really admire your courage in sharing your experiences!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jim and Kris,

The drug is fictional. And yes, Kris, it was based on the drug Alzhemed (and other drugs in development like Alzhemed that hope to be amyloid beta blockers and disease altering).

I was actually criticized by the Massachusetts Alzheimer's Association for writing that this fictional drug had promising results in clinical trials, that it would give people "false hope." I strongly disagreed with their position on this. Yes, the results for Alzhemed were disappointing. But, there's every reason to believe that a drug in this same category (like Alzhemed and the fictional one in Still Alice) will be effective in treating Alzheimer's. I believe the hope is real, not false.

Thanks for reading Still Alice...I'm so glad it's informative and generating discussion.

Lisa Genova

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting our event. Anything we can do to educate the public about this disease will help!

Karen McNeany
Georgia Southern University
Continuing Education Center