Michael J. Fox Candidly Addresses His Mortality With Parkinson’s Disease: ‘I’m Not Gonna Be 80’

etcanada.com:

Micheal J. Fox opened up this week about his shifting perspectives on mortality as he continues his battle with Parkinson’s disease. “My life is set up so… I can pack Parkinson’s along with me if I have to,” Fox says in a preview of his “CBS Sunday Morning” interview, airing this weekend.

In the clip, Fox explains that the disease has made him recentre his approach to life. “You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s,” he says, explaining that the disease is one that makes someone more liable to other life-threatening injuries, like falling, choking, or getting sick with a cold. “I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it,” he adds. “I’m not gonna be 80.” But Fox hasn’t allowed this revelation to stop him from trying to help future generations.

At the red carpet for the Michael J. Fox Foundation this week, the actor told ET that his team has helped contribute to several medical advancements to aid the prevention of Parkinson’s in future patients. “The idea of a biomarker,” Fox said, which is a “way to identify the disease before the disease is present.

By the time I was diagnosed, I had a little twitch in my pinky but… with this, we can identify the disease really early and help progression and essentially cure ahead of the game.” Fox sees the advancement as a major milestone for the Parkinson’s community.