Actor Michael J. Fox said his decades-long battle with Parkinson's Disease created "positive" changes in his life.
In an interview with Town & Country, Fox, 62, discussed his "very complicated" view of the disease, which he was diagnosed with over 30 years ago.
"I've said Parkinson's is a gift," he said. "It's the gift that keeps on taking, but it has changed my life in so many positive ways."
Fox, who revealed his diagnosis in 1998, detailed the fundraising approach of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, established with Chief Executive Deborah Brooks.
Preferring not to represent other Parkinson's organizations, Fox aimed to direct financial support to key researchers who could potentially discover a cure for the disease.
"The goal is to go out of business," Fox said.
Fox's foundation provided $233 million in grants in 2020, collecting nearly $200 million in private donations. Notably, a foundation-supported study, published in April, revealed the identification of a biomarker protein capable of detecting Parkinson's disease.
"When I was diagnosed, it was like a drunk driving test," Fox said. "Now we can say, 'You have this protein, and we know that you have Parkinson's.' It opens the gates for pharmaceutical companies to come in and say, 'We've got a target and we're going to dump money into it,' and when they dump money into it, good things happen."
Earlier this year, Fox told "CBS News Sunday Morning" that he can't envision living to 80.
"It's banging on the door," he said at the time. "All these subtle ways that get you ... You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's. So I've been thinking about the mortality of it ... I'm not going to be 80."
In the Town & Country interview, Fox said he's not afraid to die, saying, "One day I'll run out of gas."
"One day I'll just say, 'It's not going to happen. I'm not going out today.' If that comes, I'll allow myself that," he said. "I'm 62 years old. Certainly, if I were to pass away tomorrow, it would be premature, but it wouldn't be unheard of. And so, no, I don't fear that."