Pat Summitt, the legendary coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols who died Tuesday, made it clear when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s that there wasn’t going to be any "pity party." Summitt, who won more games than any coach, male or female, in Division I college basketball, was going to fight. She founded the Pat Summitt Foundation, dedicated to research, education and support of Alzheimer’s patients, families and caregivers. The Pat Summitt Alzheimer’s Clinic is scheduled to open in December at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Her legacy wasn’t just about winning basketball games. She hoped to be remembered "for making a difference in this disease."

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness month – purple T-shirts, walks for the cure, requests for donations. This year, it was the Pat Summitt story that brought the impact of this devastating disease home, again. The fight against Alzheimer’s has been too slow, for Pat Summitt, who was 64 when she died, for all its victims, and their caregivers. It’s time to declare war.

Today, 5.4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease; 200,000 of them are younger than 65 and have "early-onset" like Summitt, who was diagnosed when she was 59.

Without a medical breakthrough, that overall number could hit 14 million by 2050. In New Hampshire, 23,000 people ages 65 and older have Alzheimer’s; by 2025, that number will in increase by 39 percent, to 32,000 people. Nationwide, 15.9 million family and friends – two-thirds of them women – provided 18.1 billion hours of unpaid care to victims of Alzheimer’s in 2015.

This year, the cost for care and treatment will hit $236 billion – half of it paid by Medicare; by 2050, one of every three Medicare dollars will be spent on people with the disease. It has been called a "neglected epidemic," and it needs to be stopped.

Alzheimer’s is the only disease, among the top 10 killers, that cannot be prevented, cured or slowed down, according to the Association. Yet the disease has lagged far behind in the competition for federal research dollars. In 2011, the latest comparison available, the National Institutes of Health spent over $6 billion a year on cancer research; $4 billion on heart disease; and $3 billion on HIV/AIDS research, but just $480 million on Alzheimer’s. But there has been progress.

Congress added $350 million for Alzheimer’s research last year and this month, Senate budget writers approved another $400 million, for a total of $1.2 billion. That is below the $2 billion mark that scientists said they need if anything can be accomplished before 2025 and the arrival of aged baby boomers, who dread this disease more than any other. Supporters are optimistic the new appropriation will survive – at least it will show Congress can agree on something.

In New Hampshire, the focus is on those who live with Alzheimer’s. With bipartisan support, Gov. Maggie Hassan this month signed the "Missing Vulnerable Adult Alert Program," known as the "Silver Alert," which triggers specific, immediate action by law enforcement when a person with Alzheimer’s or dementia is reported lost. A permanent subcommittee on Alzheimer’s has established training for police cadets in handling situations involving Alzheimer’s and dementia.

It’s tough to build a public health movement anywhere when your constituents are elderly and unable to speak for themselves and when there are no treatment success stories – no one survives Alzheimer’s. We salute the passionate advocates here and in Washington. Their campaign has found its champion in the words and example of the hard-nosed coach from the University of Tennessee.

"We back Pat," was the rally cry from her fans and supporters throughout her ordeal with Alzheimer’s. We do, too. Pat Summitt was always there to win. And still is.

– Concord Monitor

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