Dr. Diane Holloway Cheney is a Sun City West mental health consultant and author who helps people develop a personal plan of action to help prevent or dilute Alzheimer’s Disease.

This disease can destroy one’s memory and ability to live a normal life over a long period of deterioration. Those who have parents with the disease are more likely to get it. However, there is some recent good news.

Studies are showing a decline in Alzheimer’s Disease in several groups of people — the more educated, people who have gained control over cardiovascular problems, the more active and those who enjoy daily mental challenges. This encouraged doctors to recommend a campaign to educate people about how they could prevent or dilute Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dr. Sudah Seshadri at Boston University School of Medicine said there is no treatment to prevent or cure dementia, but there are ways to lower the risk of having it. He believes some dementia cases might be preventable or at least delayed or limited through changes made by people who learn what they can do.
Drs. Deborah Barnes and Kristine Yaffe at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California wrote about Alzheimer’s Disease.

“A 10 percent to 25 percent reduction in seven main risk factors could potentially prevent as many as 184,000 to 492,000 cases in the U.S.,” they stated.

Dr. Cheney visits clients in their home to develop a plan for living after reviewing their daily activities, preferences for things to do, medicines, medical history and wishes. She may use questionnaires as well as discussions to develop a plan to suit the client. Each person is helped to set some goals to achieve with the plan, and periodic check-ups and adjustments can be made to better ensure the client’s pleasure with the process. Everyone is different, but some begin to feel better within days, according to Dr. Cheney.

She is a member of the American Psychological Association, National Association of Social Work, American Nurses Association, American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Our Neighbor Network Consortium. She has written books about the JFK assassination, healthy foods and is finishing a book about sleep problems. Her books are listed on Amazon under Dr. Diane Holloway.

Call 623-546-8026 or e-mail DianePsych@aol.com.