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<p>HARRISBURG &#8212; Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Monday that he was diagnosed 3&#189; years ago with Parkinson&#8217;s disease, but said he believes that treatment has stopped the progression of the disease and he has maintained his quality of life.</p><p>The 74-year-old Rendell made the announcement at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia with officials and doctors from the University of Pennsylvania as part of a public service message to urge people who suspect they have symptoms to get diagnosed and get treatment early.</p><p>He was &#8220;stunned and a little bit scared&#8221; when he was diagnosed because he had always viewed himself as indestructible, he said.</p><p>But Rendell said treatment at the hospital, including medication, has stopped the progression of the symptoms and that he continues to keep a busy schedule, including working out six days a week.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been more in a sort of battle mode than depressed,&#8221; Rendell said.</p><p>Rendell said he had not wanted to reveal his condition before he was certain whether treatment at the hospital was helping him.</p><p>&#8220;The good news is I can say without any fear of contradiction at least in my own mind that my disease has stabilized &#8212; progression has in many ways stopped,&#8221; Rendell said. &#8220;Some of the symptoms that I was undergoing are better now than they were 3&#189; years ago.&#8221;</p><p>His quality of life hasn&#8217;t changed, he said, in terms of the things he enjoys, what he eats and where he goes.</p><p>Rendell, a Democrat, was Pennsylvania&#8217;s two-term governor from 2003 through 2010. The outgoing former Philadelphia mayor with a larger-than-life persona smashed the state&#8217;s campaign fundraising records and went from the rough-and-tumble world of Philadelphia politics to the relatively stuffy state Capitol.</p><p>He became something of a national figure as a Democratic National Committee chairman during the 2000 presidential election. As a two-term Philadelphia mayor in the 1990s, he garnered the nickname &#8220;America&#8217;s mayor&#8221; after getting a reputation as a cheerleader for the city who would stop at nothing to promote it. He was the city&#8217;s No. 1 sports fan, even appearing as a regular on TV sports talk shows, and known for his love of indulgent foods, including cheesesteaks.</p><p>A lawyer, Rendell is also a former two-term district attorney of Philadelphia.</p><p>Dr. Matthew Stern, a University of Pennsylvania Health System neurologist, said the hospital is at a point where they can &#8220;significantly reduce&#8221; the effects of Parkinson&#8217;s disease.</p><p>Rendell, he said, kept a schedule in May that was &#8220;ridiculous. None of us would be able to keep up.&#8221;</p><p>Parkinson&#8217;s disease involves a loss of brain cells controlling movement. Besides tremors, it can cause rigid, halting walking, slowed speech and sometimes dementia. Symptoms worsen over time and there is no cure.</p><p>Rendell said his mother had Parkinson&#8217;s for the last 13 years of her life. He said he first noticed problems with his balance and his hands shaking 3&#189; years ago, when family members urged him to get it checked out.</p><p>&#8220;It turns out I wasn&#8217;t indestructible, none of us are,&#8221; Rendell said. &#8220;But I can be helped. All of us can be.&#8221;	</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell speaks at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia on Monday, June 18, 2018. Rendell said he was diagnosed three-and-a-half years ago with Parkinson&#8217;s disease. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/web1_120676477-0feb8ad72f2543b0822a3a8b7f2511ce-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell speaks at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia on Monday, June 18, 2018. Rendell said he was diagnosed three-and-a-half years ago with Parkinson&#8217;s disease. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marc Levy</p><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Rendell, ex-Pennsylvania governor, says he has Parkinson’s