Kansas City Academy of Family Physicians

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. Everyone who has a brain is at risk to develop Alzheimer’s, a disease that is often misunderstood. Alzheimer’s disease has become one of the largest health care crises in the world. Did you know…? Every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease. In Missouri, it is the sixth leading cause of death. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer COMBINED . Alzheimer’s is not normal aging. It is a progressive brain disease, which appears through a variety of signs and symptoms. Alzheimer’s disease is the only top-10 cause of death that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of old age. Early-onset Alzheimer’s affects people younger than 65 – many are in their 40s and 50s. About 200,000 people have early onset Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Doctors do not understand why most cases of early-onset Alzheimer’s appear at such a young ...

From KCAFP president, Emily Lott: One of the student representatives to the board, student doctor Peter Lazarz from UMKC, recently made an educational presentation to the board about an upcoming mission trip that he and several other UMKC students will be participating in. Peter has been heavily involved with the board for the last year and is a very active member in many student led organizations at UMKC. Through his participation with us, we have heard his experiences on several other mission trips, and he mentioned the upcoming trip to Haiti for which he is one of the main organizers. We invited him to speak at a meeting so that we could learn more. After hearing his presentation along with input from student doctor Claire Smith who is one of the other main organizers, the board voted to help support their endeavors, including by sharing information with the rest of the KCAFP. We wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support their efforts and several members of the board are consi...