On November 5, 1994, Ronald Reagan wrote a letter to the American people: “I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease.”
He explained why he made it public: “Nancy and I had to decide whether as private citizens we would keep this a private matter or whether we would make this news known in a public way.” He recalled earlier illnesses: “In the past Nancy suffered from breast cancer and I had my cancer surgeries. We found through our open disclosures we were able to raise public awareness.”