What is aphasia? The terrifying reality of Bruce Willis’ illness

Hollywood legend Bruce Willis has announced he is stepping away from acting due to a health condition – but what exactly is aphasia?

Fans of Hollywood icon Bruce Willis are reeling this morning after the shock announcement he is stepping down from his acting career after receiving a horror diagnosis.

On Thursday morning Australian time, Willis’ family announced in a statement the Die Hard star was suffering from a condition known as aphasia.

Aphasia formulates from brain damage and can affect one’s ability to communicate.

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a medical condition resulting in the inability to understand words and communicate clearly, and it typically occurs after a stroke or head injury, The Sun reports.

The onset of aphasia may be related to disease or brain tumour causing degenerative damage.

Treatment for aphasia comes in the form of speech and language therapy, where the diagnosed may learn new ways to communicate.

There are different patterns of aphasia: expressive, comprehensive, and global.

Die Hard star Bruce Willis is stepping away from acting. Picture: Dominick Reuter/AFP

What do the different patterns of aphasia mean?

Expressive aphasia is also known as Broca’s or nonfluent aphasia.

Those with this diagnosis may still have the ability to understand others, but not necessarily respond or speak themselves.

Paralysis of the right side or extensive weakness may also be a result of this pattern of aphasia.

With comprehensive aphasia, also known as fluent or Wernicke’s, the diagnosed may have the ability to speak but their words may seem nonsensical.

The ability to understand spoken language is often damaged and results in poor comprehension skills.

Global aphasia is basically a combination of the two, resulting in severe disabilities when it comes to expression.

Aphasia is a medical condition resulting in the inability to understand words and communicate clearly. Picture: Instagram

Does Bruce Willis have an aphasia diagnosis?

Bruce Willis’ daughter Rumer took to her Instagram account on Wednesday afternoon to announce her father is stepping down from his career.

“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” the caption read.

“As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”

“This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support,” she continued.

“We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.”

The post concluded: “As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission

Originally published as What is aphasia? The terrifying reality of Bruce Willis’ illness