Michael J. Fox talks honestly about the toll his life has taken with Parkinson's disease

Michael J Fox has opened up on how he sees his life currently.
Michael J Fox has opened up on how he sees his life currently. Photo credit: Getty Images

Michael J. Fox doesn't believe he will live until he's 80 amid his battle with Parkinson's disease.

The Hollywood actor was diagnosed with the chronic degenerative disorder when he was just 29, a year after his movie Back to the Future Part III was released in 1990.

In an emotional interview for CBS Sunday Morning, Fox described the illness as a "gift that keeps on taking" and revealed that he often ponders his mortality.

"All these subtle ways that get you, you don't die from Parkinson's, you die with (the condition). I'm not going to be 80. I won't be 80," he said.

Fox also noted that his health had deteriorated since he underwent spinal surgery in 2018 to remove a tumour unrelated to Parkinson's.

In the years following the operation, the Spin City star has endured multiple injuries from falling over, including breaking bones in his face and other parts of his body.

"It sucks, having Parkinson's...It's getting tougher, it's getting harder, every day you suffer but that's the way it is," the 61-year-old added.

A passionate activist, Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in 2000, which has raised more than US$1.75 billion to try and find a cure.