Bruce Willis 7-13 years of life after diagnosis of frontal lobe dementia.
Hollywood star Bruce Willis, 67, was diagnosed with dementia about a year after announcing his retirement as an actor due to a diagnosis of aphasia.
The Willis family announced in a statement on the 16th (local time) that he had been diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia (FTD).
“It’s painful, but I’m relieved to finally have a clear diagnosis,” the Willis family said. “Frontal parietal dementia is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can come to anyone.”
The Willis family said in March last year that aphasia had affected his cognitive abilities. Aphasia is a disease that causes you to lose the ability to understand or express words.
In a statement that day, the Willis family explained that communication problems are only a symptom of FTD.
According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Prefrontal Metamorphosis Association explained that FTD belongs to a brain disease caused by degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain that affects behavior, language, and movement. Aphasia can be one of the symptoms. The association pointed out that the degeneration of the frontal lobe is an “inevitable decline in function” and said that the average lifespan after symptoms occur is 7 to 13 years.
“There is no cure for this disease at the moment, and I hope it will change in the next few years,” Willis said, adding that it could take years to get proper treatment.
The statement was signed by his wife Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore and five children.
Willis began his acting career on Broadway in the 1970s and gained fame in the 1980s with the TV drama “Blue Moon Express” (original “Moonlighting”). He also became a world-famous star with his song “Dihard” (1987). Another representative work is “Six Sense.”
He earned more than $5 billion (6.469 trillion won) in box offices around the world.
Willis won the Golden Globe, Emmy, and was named on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.
