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NATCHEZ — Did you know that Alzheimer’s disease kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined?

Attendees at a community forum this week learned this and more, including that there is support for caregivers and people dealing with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Alicia Norris of Shareevolution and Adina Welker, who manages the Mississippi Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, spoke to an audience at the Natchez Coffee Company on the first-ever “What’s Happening Wednesday,” a new spin on the Friday Forum hosted by the Natchez Chamber of Commerce that will bring a new speaker to the Coffee Company once a month.

Norris presented information Wednesday on the topic of dementia causes and the support options available.

One of these is a new Dementia Support Group, which meets the second Thursday of each month starting at 6 p.m. at Shareevolution, 107 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St., which is focused on information sharing and conversation between caregivers of those fighting the disease in the community.

“We have caregivers in our community who really need support,” Norris said.

“Support groups are critical to caregivers,” added Welker. Those who can’t go in person can find support services online at alz.org.

Dementia is the umbrella term for diseases that cause mental degeneration such as Alzheimer’s, Cerebrovascular, Frontotemporal degeneration, Hippocampal sclerosis, Lewy body, Mixed pathologies and Parkinson’s, Norris said.

“They’re all caused by something different but they have similar symptoms as well,” she said.

One in three older adults dies with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.

Alzheimer’s has genetic causes but the risks can be reduced with certain lifestyle changes, including a healthy diet, plenty of sleep, exercise, continuing education, managing diabetes and not smoking, Welker said.

“What your doing now is protecting your spouse and children in 30 years. There are unmodifiable factors you can’t control — age, genetics, race, gender — but a huge portion of risk factors are modifiable,” Welker said.

Another way to reduce the risk is through early detection and treatment.

“Mississippi tends to be last in a lot of things but we are first in Alzheimer’s study,” because of the University of Mississippi Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia (MIND) Center, Norris said. There, they offer genetic testing to those older than 55, but it can be expensive without health insurance, she said.

Having a parent or sibling with Alzheimer’s increases the risk of having the disease, but does not mean you will develop Alzheimer’s.

The lifetime risk for Alzheimer’s is one in five for women and one in 10 for men.

Knowing the signs

Welker said 10 warning signs that could be a symptom of Alzheimer’s or other dementia include: memory loss that disrupts daily life, challenges in planning or solving problems, difficulty completing familiar tasks, confusion with time or place, trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, new problems with words in speaking or writing, misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps, decreased or poor judgment, withdrawal from work or social activities and changes in mood and personality.

A worksheet at alz.org can help distinguish the difference between any of these symptoms and typical age-related changes.

“Early diagnosis is critical for multiple reasons,” Welker said. “One, it can change the way you or your family looks at the disease. Knowing that it is a disease and not just them. … It used to be there were no treatment options and now there are multiple. Get the diagnosis and get on the treatment track. It does improve health outcomes. Also, getting the financial and legal affairs in order. Most people don’t realize how critical it is until it’s too late.”

There are also many clinical trials related to Alzheimer’s and dementia out there, Welker said.

Call 800-272-3900 or email TrialMatch@alz.org to learn more.

The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s and dementia research. For more information, or to make a donation, visit alz.org.