PBS to Air Alzheimer's Documentary

December 22, 2003
Julie Lawson's sister Fran Noonan Powers has Alzheimer's disease. And like tens of millions of Americans who have a loved one with this ruthless illness, Julie is scared, frustrated and searching for answers.

Today, approximately five million Americans have this devastating disease. But the baby boomer generation may be a ticking time bomb. With each passing year, as the first boomers approach the age of 65, America moves closer to the brink of an epidemic. While recent advances in medical research show exciting progress, effective therapies to combat the disease are still out of reach.

On Wednesday, January 21 at 9:00 p.m. (ET), PBS will present an evening of programming that will bring this looming health crisis to national attention – offering insight, context, help and hope.

The evening begins with THE FORGETTING: A Portrait of Alzheimer's, a 90-minute documentary that explores this frightening disease, the human toll it takes on patients and caregivers, and the latest research in the race to find a cure.

Hosted by award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce, ALZHEIMER'S: The Help You Need, a half-hour follow-up special, will bring together a panel of experts to provide authoritative answers to commonly-asked questions and direct viewers to organizations and resources that can offer help and support. Pierce, who watched both his grandfather and his father suffer with Alzheimer's, knows first-hand the challenges of dealing with the disease and the sense of personal vulnerability.

"With each year that passes, my fear grows—my fear that the disease process that destroyed their memories, and ultimately their lives, has begun developing in my own brain. My fear grows not just for myself, but also for my generation—the 14 million baby boomers who will get Alzheimer's disease if we don't find a way to beat this dreadful disease."

THE FORGETTING: A Portrait of Alzheimer's and its accompanying nationwide outreach campaign mark the first major PBS initiative on Alzheimer's disease. The landmark program, produced and directed by Elizabeth Arledge, was based on the best-selling book The Forgetting — Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic, by David Shenk, who served as a consultant to the documentary and appears in it.

MetLife and MetLife Foundation have been longtime supporters of both public broadcasting and Alzheimer's disease research. MetLife Foundation is the exclusive underwriter of the documentary, the national follow-up program and the companion Web site. Major funding for the national outreach campaign is provided by MetLife Foundation, with additional support by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

"Alzheimer's affects everyone. As I speak with audiences around the country I find that there is usually only one degree of separation between every person in the room and an Alzheimer's patient. This is a disease that simply cannot be ignored," says Naomi Boak, Executive Producer of THE FORGETTING.

"We need to attack this problem on many levels, and this project is designed to do just that through an evening of high visibility programming, a comprehensive Web site, and scores of public television stations working with national partner organizations to reach out to their communities. With this multi-faceted initiative, generously sponsored by MetLife Foundation, we will provide information, support and, most of all, hope."

There are nearly five million Americans with Alzheimer's – ten times as many as there were only 15 years ago. The disease, which today is the leading cause of dementia and memory loss in older people, already costs the United States over $100 billion annually. That will be dwarfed when the baby boomers start to turn 65.

In examining this looming social and economic crisis, THE FORGETTING focuses in on stories of families whose lives have been steadily ravaged by Alzheimer's. "Like so many coping with this tragedy, the families who share their stories in THE FORGETTING all have one major motivation in common – they want to let other people facing similar situations know that they are not alone, that there is help, and that they too can find the strength to face a tragedy like Alzheimer's with dignity and grace," says award-winning producer and director Elizabeth Arledge.

The PBS broadcast of THE FORGETTING will be followed by a half-hour program that will put key Alzheimer's issues in context, offer answers to commonly asked questions and suggest resources for finding more information.

A Web site accessible at www.pbs.org/theforgetting will be a central hub for Alzheimer's information and support, providing advice, resources and opportunities for Alzheimer's families to share emotions and insights. The site will help the public understand Alzheimer's by weaving together personal stories, science and history.

Created by the MIT Media Lab, The Living Center section of the Web site is an online destination that can help relieve the stress of visiting with an Alzheimer's patient by providing stimulating and engaging activities that Alzheimer's patients will enjoy.