Michael J. Fox on Parkinson's: 'Every day gets tougher'

Actor Michael J. Fox, whose life, career and Parkinson's disease all are examined in the upcoming documentary "Still," continues to face his degenerative and incurable nervous-system disorder with gratefulness as well as an acute awareness of mortality.

"It's been 30-plus years" that he's had Parkinson's, the five-time Emmy Award winner, 61, told Jane Pauley on "CBS Sunday Morning." "There's not many that have had this disease for 30 years." He later added, "You don’t die from Parkinson’s, you die with Parkinson’s. I’m not going to be 80," Fox said, then repeated for emphasis: "I’m not going to be 80.”

He noted of the disease that, "For some families, for some people, it's a nightmare. It's a living hell. You deal with realities that are beyond most people's understandings." Acknowledging that his circumstances and finances make certain aspects of living with Parkinson's easier than for many others, Fox also allowed that, "It's getting harder, it's getting tougher. Every day gets tougher. But that’s the way it is. I mean," he joked ruefully, "who do I see about that?”

The former "Family Ties" and "Back to the Future" star described having had surgery for "a tumor up my spine and it was benign but it messed up my walking." He falls easily from the Parkinson's, and has broken both arms, an elbow, a hand and even facial bones. "Falling … is a big killer with Parkinson’s," he said. "It's falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia — all these subtle ways [it] gets you."

On a positive note, Pauley in the interview reported that the Michael J. Fox Foundation, begun in 2000 to aid Parkinson's research, has raised $1.5 billion over the years, and scientists last month announced they had developed a biomarker to identify the so-called “Parkinson’s protein” in brain and body cells early enough that treatment can prevent or delay full-blown symptoms.

"This changes everything," Fox said. "I know with where we are right now, in five years they will be able to tell if [people] have it, they'll be able to tell if they're ever going to get it, [and] we'll know how to treat it."

While such breakthroughs will come too late for him, "I've had a good life," he said. "I recognize how hard this is for people and I recognize how hard it is for me. But I have a certain set of skills that allow me to deal with this stuff, and I realized with gratitude, optimism is sustainable. If you can find something to be grateful for, then you can find something to look forward to, and you carry on."

"Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie," which premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, begins streaming on Apple TV+ on May 12.