Dan Hogan has been confronting Alzheimer’s since his official diagnosis in May 2023 — but he said sometimes he doesn’t know if that memory is real or if “it’s just not true,” since he was dealing with symptoms for ten years before his diagnosis.
Hogan joined other activists at the Massachusetts State House on Thursday for an advocacy day organized by the Alzheimer’s Association to push for legislation that would help patients in the state. One measure would require more training for emergency workers who deal with Alzheimer’s patients. The other would require appropriate insurance coverage for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
Early diagnosis is a game changer, says Jim Wessler, the Alzheimer’s Association Massachusetts and New Hampshire chapter president.
“They would order a blood test to see if you have the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. We want to make sure that that’s paid for. So we don’t want the cost of that to be a barrier for thousands and millions of people across the country,” he explained.
Tufts Medicine Behavioral Health Director Dr. Brent Forester, who attended the advocacy event, says he’s worried about federal funding cuts that could hamper Alzheimer’s research.
“There’s all sorts of therapeutic strategies that are not yet ready for prime time. If that funding starts to chip away, what will happen is not only will we lack in advancing some of the promising therapeutics, but people will not be incentivized to go into the field.” Forester says there has been an increase in the number of researchers because there have been resources to support their career development. “That could really be thwarted in a way that will affect us for generations.”
Wessler says there are future drugs that would help Hogan, and certainly millions of Americans living with the chronic illness. “And the thought of that being either stopped or even delayed for years is unconscionable.”
Hogan told GBH News any developments in treatment is encouraging. “People like myself need to have hope. One of which is simply to have hope, because the possibility is that in five years I may still be fine. But if I spend my time worrying and being depressed about it, that’s not a good use of my time.”
Advocates say that Alzheimer’s and other dementia conditions often go undiagnosed. There are currently more than 135,000 individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease in Massachusetts, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
