Dealing with the pain and cost of dementia

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Podcasts Take Two

Oct 8, 2014

Listen • 7:02

Dealing with the pain and cost of dementia

Behind each one of the millions of cases of Alzheimers is a personal and often devastating story of people like Jackie Belcoe. Her niece and writer Tiffany Stanley describes what she learned caring for her aunt.

Researchers have only recently been able to use brain scans to detect Alzheimer's risk factors in living people.

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Behind each one of the millions of cases of Alzheimers is a personal and often devastating story of people like Jackie Belcoe. Her niece and writer Tiffany Stanley describes what she learned caring for her aunt.

More than 5 million Americans currently have Alzheimers, but that number is expected to double by 2050.

But behind each one of those millions is a personal story, often a devastating one, of people like Jackie Belcoe.

Jackie was a widow with no children, and her care fell first to her brother, and then her niece, writer Tiffany Stanley.

Tiffany's wrenching experience caring for her aunt is the cover story for the latest edition of National Journal titled, "Jackie's Goodbye."

Tiffany joined Take Two recently to talk about her aunt and what she learned while she cared for her.