The Willis family made a heartfelt announcement Thursday about Bruce Willis' illness through the AFTD website.

"As a family, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for the outpouring of love and compassion for Bruce over the past ten months. Your generosity of spirit has been overwhelming, and we are tremendously grateful for it."

The family made an announcement last spring about Bruce Willis' health, saying that he was diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder due to damage to the part of the brain that controls comprehension and language expression.

However, Bruce Willis' illness has progressed. According to the latest diagnosis, he has frontotemporal dementia or FTD, and problems in communication are one of the symptoms that the actor faces.

The terrible effects of FTD, which many have never heard of, can affect anyone. There is likely a far higher prevalence of FTD than we now recognize, as the diagnosis can take years, even though it is the most frequent form of dementia in persons under 60.

Unfortunately, there are no effective treatments for this illness now, but the family said they hope this will change soon.

The family hopes that any media coverage may be directed toward bringing awareness to this disease, which requires much more study and understanding as Bruce Willis' illness worsens.

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What Is Bruce Willis' Illness, FTD?

The Mayo Clinic describes frontotemporal dementia as an umbrella term for a group of brain illnesses that mainly affect the temporal and frontal lobes.

In general, these parts of the brain are linked to personality, behavior, and language.

"Signs and symptoms vary, depending on whatever area of the brain is afflicted," the website reads.

The website also stated that some persons with frontotemporal dementia have dramatic changes in personality and become socially inappropriate, reckless, or emotionally disinterested, while others lose the capacity to use language appropriately.

Bruce Willis' Career

Willis started acting in movies like "The Verdict," "Blind Date," and "Sunset" in the early 1980s, Variety says.

His career took off in 1985, when he starred opposite Cybill Shepherd in an episode of ABC's "Moonlighting," and again in 1988 when he played the legendary action star John McClane in the film "Die Hard."

The actor has starred in a wide variety of films, including four "Die Hard" sequels, "Pulp Fiction," "12 Monkeys," "The Fifth Element," "The Sixth Sense," "Armageddon," and more.

Willis' films have earned over $5 billion worldwide throughout his 40-year acting career. He has received five Golden Globe nominations and one win for his part in "Moonlighting," as well as three Emmy nominations and two wins for his roles in "Moonlighting" and a guest appearance on "Friends."

Meanwhile, only a few straight-to-video films have featured him in the last several years. His most recent notable film roles were in 2019's "Motherless Brooklyn" and "Glass," directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

Meanwhile, the family also pleaded for better education about Bruce Willis' illness, frontotemporal dementia.

"Bruce has always found joy in life - and has helped everyone he knows to do the same. It has meant the world to see that sense of care echoed back to him and all of us," the family said.

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Bruce Willis' aphasia diagnosis has progressed to frontotemporal dementia, his family says - From ABC 7 Chicago