Mumbai, Sep 21 (IANS) Actress Lara Dutta attended a conference on Alzheimer’s awareness on World Alzheimer’s Day on Monday.
Addressing the media after the conference, Lara said that the biggest tool in the fight against Alzheimer’s is to ‘start a conversation’ and identify the signs as early as possible for better treatment.
Sharing her personal experience with the disease, the ‘Partner’ actress added that her 80-year-old mother has been living with Alzheimer’s and dementia for almost 10 years now.
Lara said, “Today is World Alzheimer’s Day, and the most important message I would like to share is that we tend to think Alzheimer’s is just a disease of forgetfulness. My mother is 80 years old, and she has been living with Alzheimer’s and dementia for quite a long time—about 10 years, a decade. And the kind of care we have been able to provide her would not have been possible without the support of great doctors, a strong support system, and caregivers.”
The ‘Chalo Dilli’ actress said that if we notice any changes in our loved ones, we should reach out to professionals so that they can receive the proper treatment and care.
“So, I would like to say that when it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, the most important thing today is that we talk about it and start a conversation. We should start as early as possible so that we can identify the disease in its early stages and empower ourselves. That way, if we notice that our loved ones, or even we ourselves, are beginning to experience changes in thinking or memory, we can support ourselves in the best possible way. We should not think of this as simply a problem of forgetfulness and wait five years to see what happens. It is very important that you do not confuse this with the normal aging process,” she added.
At the end, Lara asked all to reach out to good healthcare practitioners, empower themselves by asking questions, and also build the support system required to take care of people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
–IANS
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