KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Tennessee’s Pat Summitt plans to coach “as long as the good Lord is willing” despite recently being diagnosed with early onset dementia.

In a statement from Summitt released by the university on Tuesday, the Hall of Fame coach said she visited with doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., after the end of the 2010-11 basketball season ended and was diagnosed with early onset dementia—Alzheimer’s type—over the summer.

“I plan to continue to be your coach,” Summitt said. “Obviously, I realize I may have some limitations with this condition since there will be some good days and some bad days.”

The Knoxville News Sentinel and Washington Post first reported Summitt’s condition. The coach did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

[Related: Dementia diagnosis won’...at Summitt]

Tennessee athletics director Joan Cronan told the AP that Summitt first thought her symptoms were side effects from medicine she was taking to treat rheumatoid arthritis. She said Summitt appears to be feeling better after beginning to get treatment for the dementia condition and speaking publically about it.

“She’s ready to fight this and move on,” Cronan said. “She had to come to grips with how she wanted to face it.”

Summitt, 59, told the Knoxville paper she plans to rely on medication and mental exercises to manage the progressive condition that destroys cognitive abilities over time.

She said longtime assistants Holly Warlick, Dean Lockwood and Mickie DeMoss will take on more responsibilities with the team going forward.

Summitt met with the Lady Volunteers on Tuesday to discuss her diagnosis with them. Junior guard Taber Spani said the meeting was business-like, with Summitt telling the Lady Vols nothing would get in the way for their quest of a ninth national title this season.

“More than anything she just emphasized that she’s our coach and that she wanted us to have complete confidence in her, and we do,” Spani told the AP.

Both UT-Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and Cronan pledged their support of Summitt’s decision to continue coaching.

“Pat Summitt is our head coach and she will continue to be,” Cronan said. “She is an icon not only for women’s basketball but for all of women’s athletics. For Pat to stand-up and share her health news is just a continuing example of her courage. Life is an unknown and none of us have a crystal ball. But I do have a record of knowing what Pat Summitt stands for; excellence, strength, honesty and courage.”

As college basketball’s winningest coach, Summitt has spent 37 seasons at Tennessee and has 1,071 career victories and eight national championships. The Lady Vols have failed to reach the Final Four since they last won the national championship in 2008.

Summitt said she met with local doctors after becoming concerned about her health, and those physicians recommended she undergo a more extensive evaluation. Summitt told the News Sentinel that her maternal grandmother had suffered from severe dementia.

“Pat came to us with concerns about her health and our preliminary evaluation was suggestive of dementia. Because of her young age, Pat was referred to neurology for formal evaluation,” Dr. Amy Bentley, with Knoxville’s Internal Medicine Associates, said in a statement. “After extensive testing, a diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s was made and appropriate treatment was initiated.”

Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement he was shocked and saddened to hear the news of Summitt’s diagnosis.

“You don’t necessarily associate dementia with people our age so this announcement really put things in perspective,” Auriemma said. “Pat has great support from her family, friends and staff and I know they will help her immensely. There is no doubt in my mind that Pat will take on this challenge as she has all others during her Hall of Fame career—head on. I wish her all the best.”

Prayers for her and her family. That is a tough deal.

I love me some Pat, I hate to hear this

RodeoSchro said:

Prayers for her and her family. That is a tough deal.

Indeed ... and they are all going to need them no matter how minor or severe her case progresses

5 Signs of Alzheimer's That Sometimes Show up Before Memory Loss

Memory loss is the symptom everybody worried about Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia seems to focus on. After all, it's distressing -- and increasingly obvious. Yet there are other common symptoms of Alzheimer's or dementia that can turn up even earlier, researchers say.

Sometimes, according to memory experts, even doctors miss early dementia signs because they're focused on memory loss to the exclusion of other symptoms.

In fact, in 2011 Spanish researchers found that more than a third of adults who go on to develop early-onset Alzheimer's (the kind that appears before age 65) have the following symptoms early in the disease, even before memory loss is apparent. These symptoms can also be the first to appear among adults who develop Alzheimer's after age 65.

Of course, if you notice any of these symptoms, it's important to have them checked out by a doctor, psychologist, or other expert in cognition and the brain.

Early sign of dementia #1: Personality change

A warm, friendly loved one may seem to morph into a bit of a grouch -- at first occasionally, and then increasingly. A gregarious person still jokes and talks a lot but begins to say inappropriate things or make odd accusations. A mild-mannered loved one begins cursing. All of these are examples of the kinds of personality changes that can predate memory loss in someone with dementia. Often, it's only later that friends and family look back and realize that behaviors they found off-putting or upsetting weren't intentional but related to the Alzheimer's.

Early sign of dementia #2: Problems with executive functioning

Trouble carrying out basic, familiar tasks can creep up slowly but surely. The person may, for example, have difficulty doing something that involves multiple steps, like following written directions or instructions. A longtime cook may avoid complicated recipes. A hobbyist may simplify the form of his or her craft.

Other hallmark trouble areas: making plans and not following through, whether for a vacation or an activity. Not tracking bills. Not being able to solve simple problems, such as mending a broken piece of machinery he or she could once fix easily.

Early sign of dementia #3: Vision problems

Problems with depth perception or visual-spatial coordination can precede memory problems. The person may have trouble driving or even walking well without tripping on stairs. It can be hard to judge distances or see contrasts between like colors, which can lead to accidents. In a more severe example of a perception problem, the person may not recognize himself or herself in a mirror or when passing his or her reflection in a building or window on the street.

Early sign of dementia #4: Language problems

Word retrieval and getting out the right words can become apparent before friends and family notice the more common communication problem of repeating stories or questions. For example the person having trouble may stop in the middle of a sentence, unable to think of the next word. (This can happen to anyone, but when it's a sign of dementia, it happens with alarming frequency, and sometimes the person isn't even aware of doing it.) Or the wrong word may come out -- "mouth cleaner" for "toothbrush" or "picture stick" for "TV remote control."

Early sign of dementia #5: Social withdrawal

Early in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, the person is often well aware that something is amiss, even if he or she isn't exactly sure of the source of the problem. It can be frightening to feel that you're not quite in control of your faculties all of the time. This can cause the person to use more and more energy to stay in self-command. That leaves less energy to interact with others. Sometimes the person isn't even aware that he or she seems to be losing interest in friends and family, because he or she is concentrating so hard on just getting through the day.

Social withdrawal can also be caused by a desire to avoid embarrassment or by depression -- which often develops alongside dementia.