That's such a dangerous mentality to have, though. It's hugely important, because I think a lot of the things I come up against - a lot of the things my mother came up against - is people going, "Come on, ignorance is bliss. This campaign is about helping to distinguish the early signs and symptoms and, if you feel that you're noticing those things in yourself or a loved one, opening up that conversation to gently and bravely move toward getting a diagnosis from a doctor. Or just forgetting something! We just go, "Oh I do that all the time." You want to alleviate a person's worries. They can look like just signs of aging or distraction. Our campaign is about raising awareness about the early signs and symptoms, because they're hard to recognize. I think that's the first and scariest step - actually getting a diagnosis. Well, my mom has Alzheimer's, and she was diagnosed about 8 years ago. Why is it so important for you to raise awareness about it?
Read my emotional conversation with Marcia Gay Harden below, where we talk about her mother's struggle, the embarrassment people feel that keeps them from reaching out for help and what her mother things of her amazing dedication to raising awareness for the very disease she suffers from.Īlzheimer's disease is very close to your heart. One of the ways she's raising awareness is through Notes to Remember, a campaign specifically aimed at calling out those early signs of the disease. Since her mother's eventual diagnosis, the "Code Black" star has made it her mission to spread the word about the debilitating disease, with particular attention paid to early onset symptoms. "I understood in that moment that something was happening." "It broke my heart," she told me when I sat down with her recently to talk about her work with Notes to Remember. SEE ALSO: Star Jones talks open heart surgery, being 'morbidly obese' and the importance of the Affordable Care Act Though it wasn't a complete surprise - Harden had noticed that her mother kept on forgetting where she had placed her passport on a recent trip - it still shook her to her core. Eight years ago, Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden received news about her mother that would change her life forever: She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.