Dr. Oz Reveals His Mother Was Diagnosed With Alzheimer’s Disease

Media personality Dr. Oz spoke out about his mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis on his show Monday.

Dr. Oz opened up about how even as a doctor himself, he missed the signs of his mother’s disease, according to a report published by Entertainment Tonight.

“It’s a chameleon of a disease,” Oz said during his show “The Dr. Oz Show.” “It’s like a snake in the grass, you sort of see the grass moving but you can’t quite tell what it is, and you don’t want to admit it because it’s too painful.”

“The idea that you would lose, which is how I feel now, that I’m gonna lose my mom twice,” he added. “She’s already disappearing, wisps of her memories are evaporating in front of me.” (RELATED: Trump Reveals Results Of His Physical Exam To Dr. Oz)

Oz admitted he feels guilty that he didn’t pick up on the symptoms of the disease. Sometimes signs of Alzheimer’s can take time to develop including difficulty with memory and confusing time and place.

“I love my mom dearly,” he said. “I am here because of her. … And I blamed myself because I realized that if I had found it earlier, it could have helped certainly delay … the clues were there.”

View this post on Instagram

I recently found out that my mom, Suna, has Alzheimer’s disease. Hearing the official diagnosis was devastating. But just as painful for me was the realization that the signs were there all along — I had just been overlooking them. . When my mom’s stubbornness increased, I simply blamed it on her getting older. My sister noticed she started doing her makeup differently for the first time in 60 years, but kept it to herself. When my mom started giving some of her belongings away to people she barely knew, I thought she was just trying to lighten her load following my father’s passing. But these seemingly subtle changes were in fact the first indicators of Alzheimer’s. . It was painful to admit that my mother’s health was declining, but doing so allowed us to get her help as soon as possible. You have the power to speak up and say something if you suspect any of the above symptoms in a loved one. Doing so may be uncomfortable, but it just might help slow down the Alzheimer’s progression in someone you love. Visit the link in my bio to read my mom’s story, and to learn the 6 early symptoms you should never ignore. . . . #endalz #mom #❤❤ #love #droz

A post shared by Dr. Oz (@dr_oz) on Sep 9, 2019 at 5:03am PDT

Oz shared a photo of himself with his mother announcing the news on his Instagram.