This National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, we stand with every American living with this cruel disease, every family walking beside a loved one through its difficult course, and every caregiver who devotes themselves to others day after day with extraordinary patience and love.  We also pause to remember the millions of precious moments, cherished memories, and beloved lives that Alzheimer’s has taken from families across our Nation.

Few illnesses challenge the human spirit like Alzheimer’s.  It steals the memories that tell the story of a life—the names of old friends, the sound of a child’s voice, and the familiar places we once called home.  Yet no disease can erase the dignity of our citizens, and no diagnosis diminishes the love of a family that will not leave their side.  Across America, spouses become caregivers; children return the devotion once given to them by their parents; and neighbors, doctors, nurses, researchers, and volunteers come together to offer comfort and hope in moments of profound uncertainty.  These acts of love and devotion to those suffering from Alzheimer’s represent the very best of America’s heart and soul.

For too long, our Nation has accepted chronic illness as an unavoidable part of American life, but my Administration refuses to accept that answer any longer.  Through our historic Make America Healthy Again agenda, we are asking the fundamental questions about why Americans are becoming sick, pursuing the root causes of chronic disease, restoring integrity to scientific research, and placing preventive innovation at the center of our national mission.  We are unleashing the power of Super Intelligence and the genius of American scientists, doctors, and entrepreneurs to pursue medical breakthroughs that once seemed beyond our grasp.  America has never been a country that resigns itself to the impossible—we have conquered countless diseases that once seemed unbeatable and transformed modern medicine for the world.  With that same spirit of discovery, compassion, and determination, we will keep searching for better treatments, earlier answers, and—one day—a cure for Alzheimer’s.

This month, we honor those fighting Alzheimer’s and the caregivers who stand beside them.  We remember those we have lost, embrace the families who carry their memories forward, and renew our promise to build an America where longer lives are also healthier lives. Together, we will Make America Healthy Again and give future generations the priceless gift of more years, more memories, and more time with the people they love.