Cost of Alzheimer's, triple that of other older people

Another reason why Alzheimer's is the last thing you want to get.

The health care costs of treating Alzheimer's are triple those of other older people and that doesn't  include the billions of hours of unpaid care from family members.

That all adds up to at least $33,007 in annual costs per patient, compared with $10,603 for an older person without Alzheimer's, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Alzheimer's Association.
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An estimated 5.3 million Americans have the disease; by next year nearly half a million new cases will be diagnosed, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

From 2000 to 2006, while deaths from heart disease, stroke, breast and prostate cancer declined, Alzheimer's deaths rose 47 percent.