Alzheimer's: The Cost of Growing Old

Alzheimer's: The Cost of Growing Old offers an exploration of the diagnosis, the disease and the ongoing search for an effective treatment and a cure. In this dramatic 30-minute special, people in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease describe their symptoms while family members explain the heartbreaking process of watching their spouses and parents slowly lose their memories and ability to function. The documentary shows the toll the disease takes on these caregivers, both emotionally and financially. Nationally recognized experts — including David Shenk, author of the national best-seller The Forgetting, Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic — and William Thies, vice president of the Alzheimer's Association, discuss the disease's potential impact on the United States.