A paid death notice in The New York Times in June of this year "was for Sandra Lipsitz Bem, an emerita professor of psychology at Cornell who committed suicide after receiving a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Upon her diagnosis in 2010, it said, she made known 'her intention to end her life while she could still do so without assistance if and when the disease became too debilitating for a meaningful quality of life.'"

"In most instances it's better to let people know," says Carol Steinberg, Executive Vice President of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (alzfdn.org). In my interview with her she added, "They have a right to know. This helps them understand what's going on and work to come to terms with it. It also allows them to participate in medical, legal and financial decisions that will have to be made while they are still able to do so."

