Michael J. Fox on Blowing Past His Parkinson’s Disease Prognosis from 1998: 'You Can Do Anything' (Exclusive)
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The actor first shared his diagnosis in PEOPLE in 1998, and at the time, his doctor was "hopeful" he would "be functional for at least another 10 years"
Michael J. Fox is still defying the odds.
In 1998, the beloved actor shared his Parkinson's disease diagnosis with the world in an unforgettable PEOPLE magazine cover story. In the piece, he shared that he was diagnosed in 1991 and spoke openly about his symptoms from the incurable degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.
His doctor also weighed in and shared that he was "hopeful that Fox will be functional for at least another 10 years and maybe well into old age."
And here we are, more than 25 years later.
"What I believed then and what I believe now, I might not put it in the same words, but you can do anything. Anything," Fox, 62, tells PEOPLE in an interview for the magazine's 50th anniversary special issue. "You don't have to follow other people's prognostications for what life is going to be. Life's going to be what you make it."
What he made it includes The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which he created in 2000. The organization has raised nearly two billion dollars to date in its quest for a cure for the disease — and they've made significant advancements: In 2023, they found a biomarker that can help determine if people have Parkinson's before symptoms start.
"It was one of the few times I cried about what we were doing," Fox says. "We wanted to find a way that we can diagnose the disease before the symptoms are there. Because then we could treat it, and you'd never have it. It was a big break — and a great moment."
Related: Michael J. Fox Says ‘Good Things are Happening’ After a Physically Challenging Year (Exclusive)
Looking back on that vulnerable 1998 story, Fox admits he was "really nervous" going into it.
"I didn’t want to put it out there, but, given the nature of Parkinson’s, it was going to become evident sooner or later," he says. "Todd Gold [the reporter] was really good. He said, 'How can I tell this story, get the most out of it for you, get the most out of it for Parkinson's—which I hadn't thought about yet, what impact it would have on the community?'"
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The impact was instantaneous — and massive.
"It was an amazing time because the response was great," he recalls. "The response was loving and supportive, and I really couldn't have been... It was a payoff for all the stuff I'd done through the years."
"I'm proud that I had the courage to talk about this, and to be out there with it," he says. "And PEOPLE took it seriously and treated it with a sense of gravitas and importance. Because it’s really — it, not me — changed the world a little bit."
Related: Michael J. Fox Says He Only Publicly Revealed Parkinson's Diagnosis After Bullying from Paparazzi
At the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's event on April 2, the Family Ties star told PEOPLE that the past year contained its own set of "challenges," but "good things are happening, and life is good."
For more from PEOPLE's 50th anniversary, pick up this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.
Fox credited his wife, Tracy Pollan, and his family and team for helping him through those challenges these past few months. He and Pollan have four children.
“With the help of family, with the help of people that I work with, I've been able to meet those challenges and go beyond them and do new things,” Fox said. “And the whole thing is just keep having new experiences, whether it's experiences that push forward, what we're trying to do and our mission with foundation.”
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