behind one of Spirit of the West's best-known hit singles, "Political". Illness and death In 2009 Mann was diagnosed with colorectal cancer which he overcame in 2010, and by 2011 he had made a full recovery. In September 2014, Mann announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Mann said he had noted memory issues during his acting performances as far back as 2001 and he later experienced issues with remembering lyrics and guitar chords during his musical performances. He had noted also his issues with dementia while being treated for cancer, but his doctors considered the problems to be related to the stress and strain of battling cancer. In an official statement posted to Spirit of the West's official website, Daum stated: "Although we may never know what triggered John's condition, it seems safe to conclude that his battle with cancer in 2010 was a contributor." Weeks after the announcement, Mann performed a concert featuring his solo material and that of Spirit of the West, which was broadcast by CBC Television's Absolutely Canadian in July 2015 as "John Mann Here and Now". At the time, Mann planned to continue touring and performing with Spirit of the West as long as he remained able to do so. The band later announced that it would perform its final concert in April 2016. Mann continued to perform occasional small-scale solo shows, including an appearance at a fundraiser for Alzheimer's charities in June 2016. Mann underwent a stem cell procedure in hopes of helping his Alzheimer's. An online fundraiser in December 2015 quickly amassed more than $55,000, for the procedure. The procedure took place at a clinic in Mexico because the therapy had not been approved in Canada. In 2015 filmmaker Pete McCormack filmed the documentary Spirit Unforgettable that documented Mann as he dealt with the early onset of the disease and his preparation for Spirit of the West's concert at Massey Hall. The film was screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in April 2016, and aired on HBO Canada later in the year. Mann wrote a few solo songs following his diagnosis, including one for Spirit Unforgettable and two for Daum's Alzheimer-related theatrical play Forget About Tomorrow. Following his diagnosis, musicians in Toronto staged an annual benefit concert, consisting of Spirit of the West songs and other favourite songs of Mann's, to raise money for Alzheimer's research.