At the age of 62, according to Fiona Phillips, she received an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.
After experiencing months of anxiety and mental fog, the journalist and broadcaster found out she had the disease, she told the Mirror.
After learning that her mother, father, and uncle had dementia as well, Phillips, a former host of the ITV breakfast program GMTV, claimed that the disease had "decimated" her family.
She continued, "I'm moving forward. ".
The columnist for the Daily Mirror and mother of two said to editor Alison Phillips that she was trying to "carry on" as usual but that she wanted to share her experience in order to help others.
She claimed that even though she had feared getting an Alzheimer's diagnosis in the future, the news that the disease was in its early stages had still taken her by surprise.
She says, "It's something I might have thought I'd get at 80.".
I was only 61 years old, though. ".
Because the disease had already had such a negative impact on her family life, the presenter stated that she felt "more angry than anything else.".
"My poor mother was paralyzed by it, followed by my father, my grandparents, and my uncle. It simply keeps returning to us, she said.
According to Phillips, she is undergoing tests for a medication called Miridesap, which may be able to lessen the effects of the illness, at University College Hospital in London.
She also talked about how Martin Frizell, the editor of the ITV show This Morning, has been assisting her in taking the medication.
"Poor Martin, he has been brilliantly injecting my stomach every day," she said.
"The drugs are brand-new, and both they and I have high expectations for this. ".
She continued, "I'm just getting on with it; I'm not paying attention to it.
"I'm simply carrying out my routine. I don't want to be idle, playing with my fingers or watching television. I simply enjoy doing things. ".
Currently contributing to the Daily Mirror, Ms. Phillips previously hosted GMTV for more than ten years starting in 1997.
In 2005, she also competed on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
She has previously discussed her parents' struggles with Alzheimer's in front of the public.
The Alzheimer's Society's chief executive, Kate Lee, praised Phillips for sharing her diagnosis because it helped spread "much-needed awareness of dementia.".
According to Hilary Evans, CEO of Alzheimer's Research UK, "Fiona knows better than most just how much good that can do. It takes such courage to go public with a diagnosis.
"Awareness is essential, and Fiona's courage will benefit countless others going through their own experiences with dementia. ".
In the UK, she continued, there were roughly 70,800 people under 65 who had dementia.
