(RNN) – Alan Alda, the prolific actor known best for his starring role in TV’s “M*A*S*H,” has had Parkinson’s disease for more than three years, he said on Tuesday.
The 82-year-old revealed his condition on “CBS This Morning,” saying he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s three and a half years ago.
Alda, a six-time Emmy and Golden Globe winner, said he’d noticed his thumb twitching during recent television appearances promoting his new podcast, “Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda.”
“I thought, it’s probably only a matter of time before somebody does a story about this from a sad point of view, but that’s not where I am,” he said.
He added he’d had a “full life” since his diagnosis.
“I’ve acted, I’ve given talks, I help at the Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook. I started this new podcast,” he said.
According to Parkinson.org, the disease is a “neurodegenerative disorder” that targets the part of the brain responsible for movement.
It most commonly produces tremors, a shaking of the hands or twitching of other parts of the body.
Over time, it severely impacts motor function.
According to Parkinson.org, though, with treatment and therapy, “It is possible to have a good to great quality of life with PD.”
Notable figures who have dealt with their symptoms in public include the late boxer Muhammad Ali and the actor Michael J. Fox.
"To be immobilized by fear and think the worst thing has happened to you – it hasn’t happened to you. You still have things you can do," Alda said.
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