Hope Lives in Harvey
To know that the inherited form of Alzheimer's disease is very rare means little in the village of Harvey, New Brunswick. While only about 7 per cent of all Alzheimer's disease is associated with familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), in this small community, roughly one third of the population has this form of the disease.
 "It's on your mind constantly," says Cathy whose father, aunt and several cousins have all been affected by the disease. "It's always right there and you wonder, am I next?"
After her father was diagnosed in 1993 Cathy started raising funds for the Alzheimer Society. As part of a family affected by Alzheimer's disease, she was able to bring the disease into the open and make it acceptable to talk about it. After years of silence she discovered that "the support in Harvey was phenomenal."
Treatment and care have also changed greatly since her father was sick. "At that time there were no medications. There was nothing back then at all," remembers Cathy. The first Alzheimer's medication was introduced in 1997, two years after Cathy's father passed away at age 64. Today better diagnostic tools are enabling people to be diagnosed and begin treatment earlier. In the past 10 short years, new drug therapies have been approved for use in Canada that help to alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, in some people.
"I'm at a higher risk for diabetes so I watch my sugar intake carefully," says Cathy who became aware that diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease when she saw the Heads Up for Healthier Brains material.
"The Healthier Brains information shows how much the research has evolved in recent years," says Cathy enthusiastically. "When I read it I was filled with such hope. Research is progressing and that gives everyone more incentive, more hope," she adds, voicing the sentiment that has sustained the people of Harvey for decades.
"If you get the disease now you have a better opportunity to carry on with living your life," says Cathy wistfully remembering her father. "Today treatment is about maintaining quality of life for as long as possible. It has come a long way."
All of these positive developments have helped lessen Cathy's fear that she will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. "If I do get the disease, I think I will fare far better than my father did," says Cathy quietly. "And I know that the Alzheimer Society is out there, and that if I need them someday, they will be there for me."
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