Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and the language disorder aphasia, her healthcare team said in a news release Thursday morning.
Her team confirmed that Williams was diagnosed with both conditions “after a series of medical tests” in 2023 and that they were “already posing significant hurdles in Wendy's life.”
Frontotemporal dementia is the same condition that actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with last year; The progressive disorder affects behavior and cognitive functions. Aphasia is a disorder that affects language and communication skills and involves the gradual loss of the ability to speak, read, write, and understand what others say.
According to the press release, Williams' team decided to share her diagnoses with the public “to correct inaccurate and hurtful rumors about her health.”
“In recent years, questions have been raised at times about Wendy's ability to process information and many have speculated about Wendy's condition, particularly as she began to lose her words, sometimes behave erratically and had difficulty understanding financial transactions,” it said reads it in the press release.
The press release ends with an optimistic note about the former talk show host's current condition: “Despite the diagnoses, Wendy is still able to do many things for herself. Most importantly, she maintains her trademark sense of humor and receives the care she needs to ensure she is protected and her needs are met. She is grateful for the many kind thoughts and good wishes sent her way.”
Williams' latest health news comes just days before the premiere of the Lifetime documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?”, which follows the host's attempt to make a comeback with a podcast but ultimately her struggles with alcohol addiction and health problems, including Graves' ' Fight, hold on. Diseases and lymphedema.
Before the doctor's release, Williams' family spoke to People about her current condition, revealing that she has been in a facility for treatment of “cognitive issues” since April 2023. I have not been able to call or visit her.
“The people who love her can't see her,” Williams' sister Wanda told People. “I think the big one [question] is: How the hell did we get here?”
According to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), up to 60,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with FTD. Susan Dickinson, the CEO of AFTD, told The Daily Beast on Thursday that the condition affects both the frontal lobe of the brain — which controls personality, empathy and our ability to connect with other people — and the temporal lobe , which mainly controls language and a person's ability to communicate.
The duration of progression in people with FTD varies from two to over 20 years, and the average life expectancy is seven to 13 years after symptoms begin.
“It is a degenerative disease. There are currently no disease-modifying treatments. There are some symptomatic treatments, but we currently have no way to slow, stop or prevent the disease,” Dickinson said. Still, she emphasized that it is an “incredibly hopeful time” because of the research that has been conducted. “We currently have eight drugs in clinical trials. “So we have more promising therapeutic candidates than ever before.”
As Williams' press release indicates, there is often stigma associated with FTD, which Dickinson said is usually due to misunderstanding and even misdiagnosis of the disease.
“It can take up to four years on average to receive an FTD diagnosis, and most people are misdiagnosed over time,” she explained. “When you think about the symptoms, many people are misdiagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder. Some with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. And by the way, there are things that really damage relationships. When I no longer have compassion for other members of my family, when I make mistakes at work and lose my job, or when I spend my children's college money and buy a Jaguar – and these are all things that absolutely happen when You lose your frontal skills – this will damage relationships. So the longer it takes for people to realize that it's an illness, that it's not just a midlife crisis, that it's not just that my spouse is an idiot or whatever people may conclude, the more harm will be done to the community of people around a person.”
“Given the symptoms I described, the stigma that society attaches to any type of psychiatric diagnosis can unfortunately also play a role in people with FTD,” she added.
The key, Dickinson emphasized, is early and accurate diagnosis.
“As difficult as it is to deal with this diagnosis, the opportunity to have a label, a reason and an acknowledgment is huge,” Dickinson said. “And it gives you a way to find a compassionate and supportive community, find accurate information and take control. There are ways to manage these symptoms and there are ways to contribute to research and ensure the future is brighter than what we can offer today.”