Dementia is a progressive, long-term disease. Just as someone with dementia will progress through its stages, their caregiver will also progress through the stages of caregiving.
There are 16 million Americans caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia today. Despite the group’s sheer size, they are widely known as the “invisible second patient” — because the effect caregiving has on their own health and well-being is all too often overlooked.