was brought up with just my mum, and she fell ill with Alzheimer’s in 2004. I was in my mid-20s and living in London. My mum was my best friend. There was no question what I wanted to do.”

Laura Dixon left London and moved to Bingley to live with her mum. She says it was the hardest thing she has had to do.

“You think you’re moving in with your mum, but you’re moving in with a shell. Although bits of mum were mum, other bits weren’t. I don’t think many people know what it’s like to live with somebody with Alzheimer’s,” says Laura.

“It is a horrible disease because the person you love is not there anymore, but you can’t grieve for them.”

Laura is among many relatives and carers whose tireless work saves the NHS billions of pounds a year, and highlights the need to campaign for more funding and research into this devastating condition.

The statistics are there. The World Alzheimer’s Report 2010 – issued this week by Alzheimer’s Disease International – points out the global economic impact of dementia and the fact that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are the ‘single most significant health and social crisis of the 21st century’.

World Alzheimer’s Day this week highlighted the role of relatives and friends in caring for people with dementia.

Hearing about Laura’s experiences, and those of many more families in similar situations, make this sad situation all the more real.

Laura’s mum, Margaret, a legal secretary, was diagnosed at 64. Laura explains the problem with Alzheimer’s in terms of funding is that it’s seen as a mental health problem, so the funding isn’t as much as it would be for someone with an illness such as cancer.

“It definitely needs more funding – and more research into why this happens,” says Laura.

Working full-time, Laura, now 32, couldn’t be at home with her mum all the time and she felt some of the things her mum was doing in the early stages of the illness, like leaving the hot water running, were accidents waiting to happen.

Reluctantly, she had to put her mum in a care home, and while she visits her often, she says she finds it heartbreaking.

“Mum will stand up and give me a hug, but she will wander off. Nothing she says makes sense; nothing in her world makes sense. She spends her time getting dressed and undressed again,” says Laura.

“It’s like spending time with a child, only children are always learning, whereas people with Alzheimer’s are always forgetting.”

There are currently 750,000 sufferers in the UK, and 5,211 in Bradford. By 2021, the national figure is expected to reach one million.

The World Alzheimer’s Report predicts that the worldwide costs of dementia will exceed one per cent of global GDP in 2010.

Reports from individual countries, including Britain, suggest that dementia is one of the costliest illnesses, yet research and investment is at a far lower level than for other major illnesses.

“This is a wake-up call that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are the single most significant health and social crisis of the 21st century,” says Dr Daisy Acosta, Alzheimer’s Disease International chairman.

“World governments are woefully unprepared for the social and economic disruptions this disease will cause.”

Bradford Alzheimer’s Society is working tirelessly to raise awareness and funds to continue its invaluable support.

Peter Ruickbie, acting manager for the Bradford branch, believes that people are more aware of dementia than they were five years ago, thanks to the efforts of high-profile figures such as Eccleshill-born Emmerdale actor, Duncan Preston, a supporter of Bradford Alzheimer’s society.

Mr Ruickbie says that while the society would appreciate more funding, it has to be realistic and will be looking to protect the funding it already has, along with its core and front-line services.

Research is another cause the society is continuing to champion. “There is a considerable amount to do in the research field,” he says. “There is a lot going on, but for every £1 spent on cancer research, just 12p is spent on dementia research.

“I am old enough to remember when nobody spoke about cancer. Dementia, to some extent, is in the position cancer was in 20 years ago, but it is coming out of the shadows.”

- For more information, call the Bradford branch of the Alzheimer’s Society on (01274) 733880 or e-mail sarah.hodgson@alzheimers.org.uk.