More than 25 years after going public with his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, Michael J. Fox is opening up about exceeding his doctor’s expectations.
The 62-year-old actor was first diagnosed with early Parkinson’s when he was just 30 in 1991, while filming Doc Hollywood.
He first went public with his diagnosis in 1998, where he revealed that his doctors were “hopeful that Fox will continue to function for at least another 10 years and perhaps well into old age.”
Now, more than 25 years later, Fox continues to thrive, revealing People who has always believed in himself.
‘What I believed then and what I believe now, I may not express in the same words, but anything can be done. Whatever,” Fox said.
‘It is not necessary to follow other people’s predictions about how life will be. Life will be what you make of it,” he continued.
More than 25 years after going public with his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, Michael J. Fox is opening up about exceeding his doctor’s expectations.
The 62-year-old actor was first diagnosed with early Parkinson’s when he was just 30 years old, in 1991, while filming Doc Hollywood.
Two years after going public with his diagnosis, Fox created the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000.
Since then, the foundation, which he founded with his wife of 36 years, Tracy Pollan, has raised more than $2 billion for Parkinson’s research.
The foundation even made a breakthrough in 2023, with foundation-funded research discovering a biomarker that can determine if someone has Parkinson’s before symptoms arise, something Fox was incredibly proud of.
‘It was one of the few times I cried because of what we were doing. “We wanted to find a way to diagnose the disease before symptoms appear,” he said.
“Because then we could try it and you’d never have it.” It was a great opportunity and a great moment,” she admitted.
He first went public in 1998 with an exclusive interview with People, admitting that he was “really nervous” about putting it all out there.
“I didn’t want to put it out there, but given the nature of Parkinson’s, sooner or later it would become apparent,” Fox admitted.
‘Todd Gold [the reporter] It was really good. He said, “How can I tell this story, make the most of it for you, make the most of it for Parkinson’s,” something I hadn’t thought about yet, what impact would it have on the community? Fox said.
Since then, the foundation, which he founded with his wife of 36 years, Tracy Pollan, has raised more than $2 billion for Parkinson’s research.
The foundation even made a breakthrough in 2023, with foundation-funded research discovering a biomarker that can determine if someone has Parkinson’s before symptoms appear, something Fox was incredibly proud of.
‘It was an incredible moment because the response was excellent. The response was loving and supportive, and it really couldn’t have been… It was a reward for everything he had done over the years,” she said.
“I’m proud that I had the courage to talk about this and to be out there with it,” he said, adding that the publication “took it seriously and treated it with a sense of seriousness and importance.” Because it really was him, not me, who changed the world a little bit,” she said.
“With the help of my family, with the help of the people I work with, I have been able to face those challenges and go further and do new things,” he added.
“And it’s all about continuing to have new experiences, whether they’re experiences that drive forward what we’re trying to do and our mission grounded,” he said.