"Ten years is quite a long time. I've read articles on the web that say some Alzheimers patients can live 20 to 50 years with Alzheimers."
Twenty years I could believe - I think 10 years was the average - and this was 5 or 6 years ago. However, I find it hard to believe someone could live 50 years with it. If they did, the last 20 or 30 years of their lives would be spent in a vegetative state. That assumes no drugs which retard the progression of the disease.
I couldn't believe one could live 50 years with it either, but that was according to numerous Alzheimers related sites I've come across in my pursuit of educating myself about this awful disease.