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Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell revealed that he is battling Parksinson’s disease. He encouraged people who suspect they have symptoms to get diagnosed and treatment early.

On Monday, Rendell made the announcement regarding his condition at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, He was accompanied by doctors and officials from the University of Pennsylvania. His revelation is a part of a public service message regarding Parkinson’s disease.

According to the former Pennsylvania governor, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 3 ½ years ago. Rendell said he was “stunned and a little bit scared” when doctors told him about his illness.

According to him, the treatment at the hospital including medication helped stop the progression of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. He maintains a busy schedule that include working out six days a week.

“Ive been more in a sort of battle mode than depressed. The good news is I can say without any fear of contradiction at least in my own mind that my disease has stabilized — progression has in many ways stopped. Some of the symptoms that I was undergoing are better now than they were 3½ years ago,” said Rendell.

Additionally, Rendell said his quality of life is the same in terms of eating and doing the things he enjoys.

Gov. Wolf says Rendell is always putting others first

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf released a statement expressing thoughts of encouragement for Rendell. He said, “Ed should know that the entire commonwealth is standing behind him and hoping for the continued success of his treatment and therapy. As he always has, he is putting others first by going public with his diagnosis so others can also get the help they need.”

In addition, Gov. Wolf said, “We are proud of everything Gov. Rendell did and does every day for Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. We look forward to continuing to work with him to build stronger and safer communities for a long time to come.”

Rendell served as the 45^th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He also served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2000.  He served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 199 9 to 2001.

After his career as governor in 2011, he returned to his former law firm, Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia. He also became an on-air political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.