And I want to know what’s inside yours, too
Admit it: You and millions of others have said either out loud or to yourself more than once lately, “I wonder what is going on inside of Donald Trump’s brain?” I admit I have.
Would you like to know? Would you like to see inside of his brain?
Do I have your attention yet?
I hope so because I want to talk to you. Not about Donald Trump’s brain, but about your own. I just used Donald Trump’s brain to get your attention.
Now that I hope I have it, I’ll move fast: Every 66 seconds, a new brain develops Alzheimer’s. Two thirds of those brains belong to women. In fact, a woman in her 60s is twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s in her lifetime as she is to get breast cancer. Pause and think about that. It’s actually a stunning fact.
I wish I could tell you your brain won’t develop it or that we know how to stop it if it does, but I can’t. But what I can tell you is that, if we’re able to increase funding to study women’s brains (right now Alzheimer’s gets nearly $1 billion in federal funding, while cancer receives over $5 billion and AIDS/HIV over $3 billion), I might just be able to get you the answers you and millions of others are looking for.
Why are so many brains developing Alzheimer’s and why are so many of them our mothers, our daughters, our sisters and our grandmothers?
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Donald Trump aside, this is a national epidemic. It’s going to cost our nation as much, if not more than what it would cost Donald Trump to build 10 of his walls.
It will cost more than what both Presidential candidates will raise for this election to find out—and they are going to have to raise a ton.
And it will cost our nation more than countless other things…because this year, it’s currently costing our nation $236 billion. That number is on track to bankrupt Medicaid and rise to $1.1 trillion by 2050.
Read more: 5 Ways to Stay Mentally Strong When You Think You’re About to Crack
Let’s face it: One of the few things we all have in common—Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, blacks, whites, Latinos, Muslims, Catholics—is our brains. We all want to safeguard our own minds.
This Saturday, I am cohosting Move For Minds in six cities around the U.S. with Equinox Sports Clubs. I would love for you to be there. And if you don’t live in one of the six cities we are moving in, you can still be a part of our movement.
Once we find the cure we’ll have at least answered one question about what’s going on in our brains.
Maria Shriver is a mother of four, an award-winning journalist and producer and a tireless Alzheimer’s advocate who created of Move for Minds with Equinox to raise awareness and research funds.