Over the past four years the disease has caused the Italian migrant and former steelworker to revert back to the old dialect of his childhood, which is almost impossible to decipher.

It's hard for Sen Fierravanti-Wells - who is speaking publicly about her family's battle to mark dementia awareness month - but she said it's even harder for her mother, Antonia.

"My mum and dad went to school together in the 1930s so they've known each other for 80 years," she said. "My father came to Australia in 1953 and my mother came in 1959 - they'd been engaged for 13 years.

"So, for my mother to watch the man she loves, and who has been by her side for such a long time, virtually disappear has been very difficult.

"It's difficult for dad who has dementia, but in some ways it's even more difficult for mum."

Sen Fierravanti-Wells said her mother had struggled with the need to place her husband in full-time care - something at odds with Italian family tradition.

"In culturally and linguistically diverse communities, there's often community pressures for people to be looked after at home," she said. "Mum really felt that pressure. The stigma that is still attached to dementia is compounded in culturally diverse communities due to lack of awareness and language difficulties."

Sen Fierravanti-Wells said it was important to break down stigma by running awareness campaigns that targeted different cultures.

"Around 320,000 Australians live with dementia, including one in eight who do not speak English at home," she said.

"Dementia affects people regardless of race, culture or ethnicity - if no cure is found we will have almost one million people in Australia with dementia by 2050."

The senator said the Australian government was helping fund a range of programs for people with dementia and their carers, as well as vital research.

One pilot program being rolled out by Kiama council, in conjunction with the University of Wollongong and Alzheimer's Australia, could lead the way.

"Creating volunteering and social opportunities for people living with dementia, supporting organisations to become dementia-friendly and improving signage in public areas are just a few of the initiatives this pilot is looking to trial," she said.