I’ve lost people to slow deaths from cancer, and Alzheimer’s, and while both are horrendous, Alzheimer’s scares me more. Nobody should go through that, and no one should have to see someone else lose everything they ever were. It is a total nightmare, and yes as you say, very costly. The person I knew lingered for the better part of a decade, and in addition to being emotionally devastating, it was financially difficult as well. Most people are not going to be able to afford decent care, and even with money it’s hard to find good care. You have to make a lot of surprise visits even on the best places to make sure the person you love is being properly taken care of. In the average care facilities it’s grim, and the below-average ones are hell on earth.

If I developed dementia, while I still could I’d kill myself.