Alan Alda has gone public with being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease — as the “MASH” star joins celebrities including Neil Diamond and Michael J. Fox in battling the progressive disorder of the nervous system. “I was diagnosed three and a half years ago,” Alan told “CBS This Morning” — adding: “I’ve had a full life since then. I’ve acted, I’ve given talks, I help at the Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook.” And while Parkinson’s can lead to debilitating nerve damage and dementia, Alan’s assuring his fans that his only real symptom has been a bothersome “thumb twitch.”
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The National ENQUIRER revealed in June 2015 that friends were concerned about the TV legend's health — as Alan began to look increasingly haggard during his public appearances. "I didn't realize it was Alan at first," said one worried insider after an appearance that year. Friends feared at the time that the star was still struggling after enduring emergency surgery in a rural village while filming a 2003 TV documentary in Chile.
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Alan's also already overcome being stricken with polio as a child — and he's making it clear that his advanced age isn't keeping him from being ready to triumph over another illness. "I thought it's probably only a matter of time before somebody does a story about this from a sad ... point of view," he said, "which is not where I am."
The National ENQUIRER revealed in June 2015 that friends were concerned about the TV legend's health — as Alan began to look increasingly haggard during his public appearances. "I didn't realize it was Alan at first," said one worried insider after an appearance that year. Friends feared at the time that the star was still struggling after enduring emergency surgery in a rural village while filming a 2003 TV documentary in Chile.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Alan's also already overcome being stricken with polio as a child — and he's making it clear that his advanced age isn't keeping him from being ready to triumph over another illness. "I thought it's probably only a matter of time before somebody does a story about this from a sad ... point of view," he said, "which is not where I am."
Photo credit: Getty Images
