Published Mar 15, 2023

Actor Michael J. Fox, 61, Has ‘No Regrets’ Amid Decades-Long Parkinson’s Journey: Has ‘Great Life’ Fighting to Improve Lives of Other Patients

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Staying Positive Through Parkinson's

Michael J. Fox, 61, revealed this week he has “no regrets” while living with Parkinson’s disease.
Fox was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s in 1991 when he was just 29 years old.
Experts tell SurvivorNet that patients who are positive typically have more successful treatment outcomes.

Actor Michael J. Fox, who was diagnosed with an early onset of Parkinson’s back in 1991 at just 29 years old, is living well with the disease despite the challenges he may face, saying he has “a great life” fighting to improve the experience of other people living with the disease.

Fox, now 61, gave some more insight into his battle with Parkinson’s disease during a recent screening of his new documentary titled “STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie.”

“I didn’t have a choice… This is it,” the beloved “Back to the Future” actor said during a Q&A at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, according to People. He was answering a question as to why he “mobilized” others and spread awareness of Parkinson’s. “I have to give everything I have, and it’s not lip service. I show up and do the best I can.”

“Pity is a benign form of abuse. I can feel sorry for myself, but I don’t have time for that,” Fox continued. “There is stuff to be learned from this, so let’s do that and move on.”

This collaboration is for the fans! We wanted to celebrate you all with this limited edition merchandise collection. See the full collection of designs and signed collectibles at the link in my bio or go to https://t.co/fkq2LqNJFM pic.twitter.com/Ox0ba2ZdkS
— Michael J. Fox (@realmikefox) November 11, 2022

Speaking to his film’s director, Davis Guggenheim, during the Q&A, Fox said, “Parkinson’s sucks, but it’s a great life, so thank you for it.”

In regard to the time he took a work hiatus after getting diagnosed, Fox added, “I have no regrets. You do what you have to do, but you do not want to kill yourself. And that’s when I stopped.”

The film tells the life of Fox, who is known for his memorable roles as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future franchise and Alex P. Keaton in “Family Ties,” throughout his childhood, acting success in the 1980s, and his Parkinson’s diagnosis.

SXSW describes the film as incorporating “documentary, archival and scripted elements, recounting Fox’s extraordinary story in his own words – the improbable tale of an undersized kid from a Canadian army base who rose to the heights of stardom in 1980s Hollywood.”

“The account of Fox’s public life, full of nostalgic thrills and cinematic gloss, unspools alongside his never-before-seen private journey, including the years that followed his diagnosis with Parkinson’s,” the documentary description continues. “Intimate and honest, and produced with unprecedented access to Fox and his family, the film chronicles Fox’s personal and professional triumphs and travails, and explores what happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease.”

And as his fans have continued to praise and support him throughout his Parkinson’s battle, Fox said during the SXSW festival, “My fans have basically given me my life. I wanted to give these people who have done so much for me my time and gratitude.”

Michael J. Fox: "Comedy is the way my brain works. That's how I communicate." #Sundance https://t.co/kwvQAt0dtt pic.twitter.com/NINZxo7gWW
— Variety (@Variety) January 21, 2023

Speaking to Variety earlier this year, Fox revealed comedy is simply a part of who he is.

“Comedy is the way my brain works. That’s how I communicate,” Fox said.

Guggenheim told Variety at the time, “I didn’t want to make a Parkinson’s movie. I don’t want to make a sick movie. I want to make a movie about a life. The one thing he said to me was, ‘No violence.'”

“We hope the tone of the movie is no pitying,” Guggenheim continued. “This is a movie about a wild life, an incredible ride of ups and downs and a Hollywood 1980s movie star and what happens when life throws him a curveball.”

Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s Journey

In 1991, when Fox was just 29 years old, the actor was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s. He chose to keep his diagnosis private for seven years before going public with the news in 1998.

Since speaking out about the disease, Fox has become a spokesperson for Parkinson’s awareness — pushing for more research and funding.

His organization, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, was created to help find a cure for Parkinson’s disease through funding research and developing therapies.

Prioritizing Mental Health & Acceptance After a Diagnosis

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves. Symptoms start slowly. The first symptom may be a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. Tremors are common, but the disorder may also cause stiffness or slowing of movement.”

“In the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, your face may show little or no expression,” the clinic explains about the incurable disease. “Your arms may not swing when you walk. Your speech may become soft or slurred. Parkinson’s disease symptoms worsen as your condition progresses over time.”

As researchers like those at The Michael J. Fox Foundation are trying to find a cure for the disease, medications to mitigate and control some symptoms of Parkinson’s do exist—some of which include dopamine promoters, antidepressants, cognition-enhancing medication, and anti-tremor medication.

For those living with Parkinson’s, or a similar disease, Fox offered some advice in a previous AARP interview, saying, “Have an active life and do not let yourself get isolated and marginalized. You can live with it.”

He continued, “People sometimes say that a relative or a parent or a friend died of Parkinson’s. You don’t die of Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s, because once you have it, you have it for life — until we can remedy that, and we’re working hard at it.”

“So, to live with it, you need to exercise and be in shape and to eat well,” Fox said. ” If you can’t drive, find a way to get around. Maintain friendships. Don’t say, ‘Oh, I don’t have anything to say to Bob.’ Bob might have something to say to you. Just make the call.”

Staying Grateful for Life After a Diagnosis

Following a diagnosis, it’s understandably difficult to feel gratitude in all aspects of life. However, studies have proven that patients who maintain an optimistic and positive attitude often have better treatment outcomes.

Stay Positive, It Matters

“The patients who do well with cancer, they live life with gratitude in terms of everything,” Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal cancer surgeon and Director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet.

“They’re grateful, not for cancer, but they’re grateful for an opportunity to know that life is finite. They live life with [saying] ‘I love you’ to their husband, to their wife, to their kids,” Dr. Murrell added. “They can appreciate it for one of the first times ever because they know it may not be forever that they get to do this. Those are the patients that tend to do well with processing and also living a long, long life despite a diagnosis.”