Following the release of detailed statistics and projections yesterday, Alzheimer’s Australia says Orange has an estimated 1,300 residents living with the disease.

“That is expected to increase to 1,400 by 2020 and 2,600 by 2050,” Alzheimer’s Australia chief executive officer John Watkins said.

Orange resident Peter Coleman, who lost his wife Elaine to Alzheimer’s last year after caring for her for almost 10 years, knows first hand the challenges facing a family dealing with a diagnosis and seeking counselling support.

He says despite the growing problem of Alzheimer’s in the community, health resources to support sufferers and their carers is limited.

“I have seen people traumatised by the fact that they don’t know what is going on,” he said.

“As I see it there are two big problems. The first is despite it being the second biggest killer in this country, there is nothing like the resources and education that goes into it by the government compared to cancer or heart issues.”

He said the second major issue for him is the way the disease is treated.

“It is still seen as taboo talking about Alzheimer’s and often families don’t want it spread around that someone in their family has it,” he said.

However, he says this can be counter productive.

“The more we talk about it, just like cancer, the better things will be and it will take away the stigma,” he said.

Mr Coleman said he urges anyone with questions to seek medical advice and intervention as soon as possible.

“You need that support,” he said.

“One of the hardest things about caring for someone with Alzheimer’s is how quickly the situation can change.”

“One day a person can have a skill and the next day it’s just gone.”

Mr Watkins said while the latest Alzheimer’s figures are alarming accounting for the second leading cause of death in Australia after heart disease, there is hope for those living with dementia.

“Dementia can be very isolating, confusing, confronting and a difficult disease to live with,” Mr Watkins said.

The data released yesterday reveals while Bathurst has about 1211 people living with Alzheimer’s a bigger jump than Orange (121 per cent) is expected by 2050.

Dubbo has similar numbers with 1228 people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s with the forward projections for 2050 similar to Orange.

Alzheimer’s Australia urges people to get in touch with their nearest support group for non-medical support.

Call 1800 100 500.