For the past four years, Jeanne Otty has gone through the same routine every time she visits her friend in Cape Elizabeth.

“This is Jeanne Otty, she’s come to see you, she’s from Woodford’s Church,” the Cape woman’s caretaker says, introducing Otty as if for the first time. The woman has Alzheimer’s and Otty has adopted her as a companion.

Otty knows the woman doesn’t remember her, but that doesn’t stop her from visiting. Otty’s Church paired her up as a volunteer companion for the woman about four years ago. For confidentiality reasons, Otty could not reveal the woman’s name.

When Otty first visited the woman, she didn’t know what to expect.

“I didn’t know what I was really doing that first time,” said Otty, a South Portland resident who volunteered through Woodford’s church in Portland to companion an Alzheimer’s victim.

In the beginning, said Otty, the woman was humorous and active. On their first meeting, Otty found herself straining forward trying to hear the woman’s soft speech.

Otty’s new companion was uncomfortable with this. “Sit back you look like you’re gonna bite me,” The woman said to her.

The woman’s keen humor broke the ice, and created a sense of ease, said Otty. During her visits, they would read Bible verses, sing together and go on car rides.

Now, four years later, the disease has advanced, and Otty said the woman has reverted to a childlike state, playing with stuffed animals and singing her speech. She talks less, can’t shower independently and she no longer plays solitaire. “She gave up on her cards. There was less and less of everything,” said Otty.

Otty was one of about 25 seniors who attended an informational presentation about Alzheimer’s at South Portland Community Services last Thursday. The presentation was sponsored by the South Portland and Cape Elizabeth TRIAD, a community group which provides programs to enhance the lives of the elderly.

About half the hands in the room shot up when Elizabeth Weaver, licensed social worker and program director for the Alzheimer’s Association based in Portland asked the crowd whether they knew somebody with Alzheimer’s disease.

Weaver said about 10 percent of seniors 65 and above are diagnosed with the disease while upwards to 50 percent of seniors 85 and above show symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia is a progressive incurable disease of the brain, which slowly robs a person’s memory, leaving them unable to care for themselves and often not knowing themselves or their family members. It always leads to death. Alzheimer’s is only one brand of dementia. Not all forms of dementia are incurable, said Weaver.

Otty has witnessed the slow deterioration of her companion over the past four years. Though she can still speak, she can no longer do the most basic things, including cooking and bathing. Otty is not sure when she lost these abilities. “I can’t really pinpoint it…you just realize, ‘ok, that isn’t anymore,'” she said.

There is a certain amount of normal memory loss people experience as they age, said Weaver. As the nervous system slows down, so does the process of remembering. However, staying active helps maintain a healthy brain, which can stall deterioration and memory decline, she said.

“You don’t have to do crossword puzzles if you don’t like them, but do something that keeps your brain active,” said Weaver.

Though there are medications available to slow Alzheimer’s hostile takeover of the brain, there is no cure. About 4.5 million people are living with Alzheimer’s today. Weaver estimates that in the next 30 years there will be 15 million.

“I was 90 in February. I don’t know if I have to worry about Alzheimer’s or not,” one audience member said at the presentation.

Though age is the most common risk factor, genetics, family history, previous head trauma and down syndrome are also factors for determining probability of developing the disease, said Weaver.

Fear of developing Alzheimer’s is common amongst the elderly, said South Portland resident Nellie Romano. “You do things to keep active…play bridge, balance the checkbook,” but she said, “we’re all worried about it.”

Otty said she’s aware of the risks but tries not to think about it. Instead, she continues visiting her companion because she said she knows it brings joy to the woman. “She doesn’t know who I am, I accept that,” but “her face lights up and I feel like I’m doing some good…that’s the only reason I go.”