Both of my grandparents were diagnosed with Alzheimers a few weeks ago. The disease had brewed inside them for several years, but nobody in my family knew they had it until it became severe.

Unfortunately, neither of my grandparents understand how dysfunctional their brain is. They still have the mindset that they are spry 70-year-olds, when in reality they are in their mid 80s and incapable of caring for themselves. We'd like to move them into a nursing home, but they reject the idea because they don't think anything is wrong with them.

I'd like to imagine this wouldn't be an issue had we detected the disease early enough. Early detection might not prolong life, but it certainly makes the transition to death easier for those involved.