A woman diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's has opened up about the difficult decision to end her life through a medical assistance program, as well as the early symptoms she experienced.
Rebecca Luna received her diagnosis two years ago, following a series of cognitive tests and brain scans conducted by a neurologist.
The 48-year-old was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's, also known as young-onset Alzheimer's, a rare form of dementia that affects individuals under the age of 65, often in their 40s and 50s.
Highlights
- Rebecca Luna, 48, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's after experiencing alarming memory lapses and cognitive decline.
- She has publicly shared her journey on TikTok, including her decision to apply for Canada's Medical Assistance in Dy*ng (MAiD).
- Rebecca launched a GoFundMe and uses humor to cope with the emotional toll of the disease.
Rebecca shared her diagnosis last month on TikTok and launched a GoFundMe page to support her two children and help cover basic living expenses.
Rebecca Luna, a 48-year-old Canadian woman, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's two years ago
Image credits: wheredidrebeccago
Before receiving the diagnosis, she had been going through a "pretty stressful period" and was living a "fast-paced" lifestyle.
"I'm a single parent working full-time. I have ADHD as well. So I was stressed, needless to say, and so any of the [memory lapses] that were happening at that time, I chalked up to perimenopause," the mother shared with Yahoo.
Before her diagnosis, Rebecca was living a high-stress life as a single mother, working full-time while also managing ADHD
The first memory lapse she experienced was forgetting her workflow on her computer.
"I've been in my job for a few years. When I opened the computer [one morning] and looked at it, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to start.
"Normally, you would start your job, and you'd be like, 'Oh, I've got to do this, this, this.' I had no idea. There was just … nothingness."
She later began noticing other signs that she said were more "obviously" connected to the disease.
Her first major symptom was forgetting her workflow at her job, followed by increasingly “obvious” memory lapses, she said
"I was boiling an egg. I left it on the stove, and then I walked downtown, which is a half-hour walk. When I got downtown, I realized I left the stove on. I ran home, and my house was covered in smoke. So, it literally almost caught my house on fire."
At one point, she forgot that she had put her car keys in, so she spent a long time searching for them both inside and outside her car.
"Then I sat down, and I just paused for a minute. And then I heard the car. The car was on, and the keys were in the ignition. My car was on that whole time. I had completely blanked out the process of getting in, putting the key in, and turning the ignition on."
Rebecca initially believed the memory issues were tied to her mental health before a neurologist confirmed her diagnosis
Image credits: GoFundMe
Rebecca said she initially underwent a few cognitive tests with a psychiatrist, as she believed the memory lapses were connected to her mental health history.
After failing those tests, she consulted a neurologist, who conducted additional cognitive tests and analyzed her MRIs and medial temporal atrophy (MTA) score.
On TikTok, where she goes by @wheredidrebeccago, the Canadian woman spoke about applying for Canada's MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dy*ng) as she faces the progressive disease.
The child protection services worker said she consulted with specialists and was told she could apply for MAiD now and decide later whether or not to proceed.
The mother of two revealed that she has started the process of applying for MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dy*ng), a legal option in Canada since 2016
According to Rebecca, individuals with Alzheimer's in Canada don't need to be fully cognitively intact at the time the medication is administered to them. However, they must receive approval from a doctor in order to apply for MAiD.
"Not ready to fill that form yet, but I have it," she said in the video posted Friday (June 20). "It's not something I'm going to be doing right away, but it's there in my back pocket.
"I know it's a controversial discussion, and I personally believe that everyone has the right to do what they feel is best for themselves.”
“I know it's fairly controversial, but that's the route that my family and I have chosen,” she said
Image credits: Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
She continued: "For me, being that I've worked with Alzheimer's patients, I refuse to ever be in a home. I refuse to ever expose my family to this disgusting disease.
"And I just want to say thank you so so much to the people who have shared the stories of their loved ones who have accessed MAiD because I've cried reading those comments."
Speaking with The Daily Mail, Rebecca said that she's put her name down for the MAiD program.
"That is definitely a big part of my sharing my journey, is talking about that as well, because I know it's fairly controversial, but that's the route that my family and I have chosen."
Rebecca stated she does not want to end up in a care home or expose her family to the “disgusting” disease
Image credits: wheredidrebeccago
MAiD has been a legal option for qualifying people across Canada since 2016.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, about 200,000 Americans have younger-onset dementia. In contrast, an estimated 7.2 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in 2025, most of whom are aged 75 or older.
On average, people with Alzheimer's disease live between three and 11 years after diagnosis, though the rate of progression for the disease varies widely, the Mayo Clinic notes. Early-onset Alzheimer's is believed to have a more aggressive disease course and progresses faster.
Early-onset Alzheimer's is rare and tends to progress more quickly than later-onset forms of the disease
On her GoFundMe page, Rebecca is asking for donations to "help create savings to help with Basic living expenses, medications, therapies and other out of pocket expenses, financial help for me and my children for the unknown."
"I'm doing my best to live fully, work and take care of myself-but the reality is that I won't be able to do that forever. As this illness progresses I will eventually lose the ability to work, live independently and support myself financially," the page description reads.
Rebecca, who raises awareness about the rare disease on TikTok, has started a GoFundMe page to support her family
Image credits: wheredidrebeccago
The 48-year-old further shared that she often uses humor to cope with the complicated reality of her forgetfulness. "It's so weird. I make fun of it all the time because that's just generally who I am. I like to keep things kind of light and funny," she told Yahoo.
"It's important for me to make fun of myself, to keep the morale high for the people around me, but I also need it because it is so serious.
"I could totally take this and just go on an isolation/depression bender, and I do not want to do that."
People reacted to Rebecca Luna’s decision and praised her for spreading awareness about early-onset Alzheimer's
