What is the origin of National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness month and what can I do to promote it?

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan first designated November as National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, when less than two million Americans were diagnosed with the disease and just one year before he himself received the same diagnosis.

Forty years later, that number has now more than tripled — to over 6 million people. One in nine people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder that slowly destroys memory, concentration and thinking skills.

The lifetime cost of dementia is estimated to be more than $390,000, including the value of unpaid caregiving. Families/caregivers shoulder 70% of these costs. In the last five years of the life of a person with

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