Alzheimer's disease (AD) takes as its own many victims the afflicted individual and the family or care providers. What happens to a family experiencing AD has been described as a “funeral that never ends. “ The endless hours of provision of care and the fact that our health care and legal systems are as yet unresponsive to the plight of the family, make the task of coping extraordinarily difficult. This paper focuses on the family, both in recognizing that support and care are needed by the family in managing its own needs and in offering practical suggestions for the planning of care for the victim.
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