Hi Catmom777,
I agree, dementia is scary, but you can't let the possibility of getting it someday worry you.

My dad was the youngest of 5 children.
His parents died young, when he was in the service.
My grandmother had heart disease and my grandfather liver cancer.
Of course, who knows what would have happened if they lived in a different time where medicine, surgery and early detection was available.

My dad's oldest sister feared dying young.
She never mentioned from what.
I'm here to tell you that she went on to live into her mid-90s.
She developed dementia in her late 79s and breast cancer.

One of my dad's sisters developed heart disease and died in her 70s.
My dad developed heart disease in his 40s, probably due to smoking and eating wrong.
My dad also developed dementia. That happened in his 70s.
My dad, who lived with heart disease since his 40s, had 2 by-pass operations, and a couple of pace-makers went on to live into his mid-80s.

My mom was the middle child of 5.
My grandmother died at 87.
She broke a hip and had a stroke; she was never the same after the stroke.
My grandfather died at 91.
NOTHING was wrong with him.
He was a smoker ALL of his life!
He woke up one day, didn't feel well, and was dead by nightfall.
Three of my mother's siblings died in their late 60s/ealry 70s.
My mom, a non-smoker died from lung cancer at 67.
Her oldest sister died in her mid-90s....just old age.
Her youngest brother and my only surviving blood uncle or aunt is still alive.
This year, he was dianosed with some sort of cancer.
They gave him treatment to shrink the tumor so he'd be comfortable.

Why all this?
Genetics!
When my dad had his first heart surgery I was terrified I have heart disease and die young.
No heart disease and still around.
When my mother had lung cancer and died at 67, again I was terrfied.
This time, however, I do have nodules on my lungs that are watched.

Guess what I wanted to say in this overly long post is that genetics certainly plays a part in what happens to us and NOTHING we can do will stop some terrible infliction from getting us.
However, as I said before, times and medicine is constantly changing. It is no longer guaranteed that we will develop what our ancestors had (has).
There are certain things we certainly can do to help eradicate the disease from getting to us or at least postponing it and lessening it.
So, if developing dementia is truly scaring you, do something to try to at least prolong it.
Eat right and exercise your body and especially your brain.
As you know, your brain is a muscle....use it or lose it.
Do things that challenege you, read, learn something new, do puzzles, construct something, take a class, etc.
Don't let the disease get you before it gets you!

Happy Friday!
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)