Valentin Gaft suffers from illness and complains about the lack of money for treatment. Valentin Gaft is sick with cancer: The actor recovers after emergency heart surgery Valentin Gaft is sick with Parkinson's disease

The state of health of the popular artist Valentin Gaft today leaves much to be desired.

More and more often in the media you can read that the actor is not feeling well. What forecasts do doctors give and what is Valentin Gaft’s illness?

Actor biography

Valentin Iosifovich was born in Moscow on September 2, 1935. The great and beloved artist survived the Great Patriotic War, seeing off first his father and then his older brother to the front.

Despite the difficult years, Valentin Iosifovich’s mother, Gita Davydovna, tried to instill in her son a love of art.

Gaft first became acquainted with the theater in elementary school, becoming a spectator of a local play. Then it seemed to him that all the actions on stage were reality. But Valentin Iosifovich’s desire to become an artist himself appeared a little later.

Nevertheless, the future artist showed his talent precisely while studying at school. He participated in all school productions and even coped with female roles with ease. Immediately after the final exams, Gaft submits documents to the Moscow Art Theater School.

Such famous actors as Oleg Tabakov and Mikhail Kozakov became Valentin Iosifovich’s classmates. Now the actor is famous for such roles as Valentin Mikhailovich Sidori in the film “Garage”, Apollon Mitrofanovich Sataneev “Sorcerers”, Brasset “Hello, I’m your aunt!” and many others.

Throughout his life, the actor devotes himself completely to his profession. At first, Gaft worked mainly in the theater, and acted in films only in episodic roles.

But in the 70s, fate brought him together with director Ryazanov, who considered the charisma and talent of Valentin Iosifovich.

Films and performances with his participation always become masterpieces. The viewer is accustomed to seeing his favorite artist on the screens, parsing his roles into eternal quotes.

Actor's tragedy

Hard work, constant rehearsals and filming, as well as tragedies in his personal life, seriously affected the health of the 82-year-old artist.

In 2002, his daughter Olga from her marriage to Inna Eliseeva committed suicide. Not having time to recover from the tragedy, Gaft receives a second blow, and Inna Sergeevna herself passes away.

After this, the artist fell into depression, withdrew into himself and stopped giving interviews for a whole year. His friend and now wife, Olga Ostroumova, helped him survive such stress without serious health consequences.

Health status

Today, despite his advanced age and state of health, Gaft continues to play in the theater, act in films, perform in public with his famous epigrams and dub films and cartoons.

2017 was a difficult year for the artist. Due to health reasons, he had to postpone several planned creative evenings. It is worth noting that the artist’s heart problems began in 2011.

It was then that doctors from the Sklifosovsky Institute diagnosed Gaft with a heart attack. Then the artist did not wait for the end of treatment, but left the hospital immediately for the performance.

Such dedication to one’s profession is rewarded with the sincere love of the viewer. Every alarming message about the artist’s health is perceived as a personal tragedy.

In 2014, Gaft’s serious condition became known. Then the doctors had to perform a major operation on him and put him into an artificial coma.

4 days after the operation, the People's Artist was transferred to the rehabilitation department. Then Valentin Iosifovich quickly recovered and returned to his viewer again.

Doctors did not exclude the possibility that if the treatment had been completed in 2011 and the actor had undergone bypass surgery, an imminent secondary attack would have been avoided.

In March 2017, an ambulance was called for the actor at the Matsoni cafe, where he was having dinner. Gaft felt sharp pains in his chest. It is worth noting that the actor does not really like hospitals, so he refused hospitalization, although he was diagnosed with angina.

It is known that Valentin Iosifovich trusts traditional medicine more. At his age, he doesn't want to spend time confined to a hospital bed. The actor himself believes that his main illness is old age. Therefore, he wants to live the time remaining to him fully.

It is possible that heart attacks, as well as life problems and constant work, caused the development of Parkinson's disease. The uncertainty in the actor’s movements and lack of coordination were noticed not only by Gaft’s colleagues, but also by the audience.

The fact that Valentin Iosifovich was suffering from a terrible disease was confirmed during the filming of “Song of the Year.” The nervous system of his beloved artist could not withstand the serious stress that his body experienced.

Parkinson's disease is especially scary for an artist, because a person begins to forget basic things, not to mention memorizing roles. It is also known that there is currently no effective treatment for this disease.

It is possible that very soon the People’s Artist of the RSFSR will no longer be able to go out in public and act in films. Gaft himself does not like to talk about his illnesses. The artist rarely talks about his illnesses in the media.

Valentin Iosifovich likes to talk more about future works and upcoming performances. He believes that he must work until he literally collapses.

Also, at the end of December last year, Valentin Gaft was operated on. This time the artist was bothered by an old hand injury.

The pain was so severe that Valentin Iosifovich decided not to delay the visit to the doctors, although he initially planned to have the operation after the premiere of the new play “As Long as Space Exists.”

It is this production that is very important for Gaft, because he became a co-author of the play. The second author of the play is Said Bagov, who, just like Valentin Iosifovich, himself plays in the created production. The premiere of "As Long as Space Exists" was postponed to February 2018.

The actor himself is optimistic. Gaft believes that his love for his loved ones and work, despite his current state of health, will help him delight with his creativity for a long time.

In turn, grateful spectators are sympathetic to the postponed performances and performances, and wish Valentin Gaft good health.

The English surname “Parkinson” makes us remember a formidable illness that gradually takes away the patient’s ability to move, speak, think... But sometimes miracles happen. And the patient, who yesterday was not happy with anything, today puts on beautiful clothes and goes to rehabilitation classes.

How to prevent the disease or at least slow it down?

Muhammad Ali is a legendary boxing champion. Michael J. Fox - Marty McFly from the famous movie "Back to the Future". Wonderful Soviet and Russian actor Valentin Gaft. The great satirist Arkady Raikin. Rock star Ozzy Osbourne. Artist Salvador Dali. Pope John Paul II. All of them were united by the fight against a terrible disease called Parkinson's disease.

Like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease prevents the patient from moving, learning, speaking, performing everyday activities... For an as yet unknown reason, brain cells begin to die, disrupting the functioning of the entire body. The disease is considered to be an inevitable accompaniment of old age. Because of this, parkinsonism often goes undetected. Memory problems? So what, this is how it should be... However, the disease does not always appear with age. Actor Michael J. Fox was diagnosed when he was thirty.

Fight, love and... live!

At first glance, the most ordinary Russian family. But... For twenty years now, my husband, a former military man, has been struggling with Parkinson's disease. A disease for which no effective cure has yet been found. The drugs known today help only at first. Time passes, and the results of treatment fade away. The body stops responding to the pill. Science is looking for new methods - from new dosage forms to electrodes that stimulate the affected areas of the brain...

Our hero, fortunately, does not look much like a classic patient with Parkinsonism. He calmly pours tea, takes out the trash, and helps his wife with the housework. When the whole family goes to the dacha, the husband and father get behind the wheel. From home to dacha two hundred kilometers. The children bought dad an exercise machine, which he uses every day. Another family tradition is a daily long walk. Mom and dad walk eight kilometers a day. By no means less.

The patient decided to take part in the clinical trial. A new method of treating Parkinson's disease is being tested by 36 of our compatriots... But the main thing is not only this. And the fact is that the whole family is struggling with the disease. The love of loved ones, willpower and the desire to live work where the most modern medicines fail.

The main medicine is warmth and...

“We started holding patient schools twice a month. Our students come to classes with pleasure. They communicate with each other, stop being shy and even start dressing up. Our specialists are very different: from a speech therapist to a dance therapist,” says Elena Khvostikova, director of the Genome Patient Assistance Center.

Together with the First St. Petersburg Medical University named after. Academician I.P. Pavlova Patient Assistance Center runs a charity project “Always Choose Life”. It includes schools for patients and their loved ones, and meetings - sports and creative, and social patronage... Families faced with parkinsonism receive knowledge on rehabilitation and psychological support.

On April 11, World Parkinson's Day, Genome held an anniversary school in St. Petersburg.

Dance therapy? Yes, yes, in schools for patients with Parkinson's disease, which are now in St. Petersburg and Kazan, they learn not only to speak, write, study, develop memory, but also... to dance! Dance heals...

But until recently, many of those who come to the Center found it difficult to take a few steps. The feeling of loneliness and uselessness aggravates the course of the disease. Almost every person retiring faces this feeling. What about someone who is seriously ill? And only relatives can help. And the medicines are purchased not by the state budget, but by the family budget.

Having contracted Parkinsonism, Muhammad Ali created the Parkinson Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in the USA. The center bears the name of its founder. Those who care are fighting a dangerous disease.

But no one knows who will develop Parkinson's disease and when. Perhaps it is worth thinking about supporting patients at the state level?

…physical training!

Exercise, like socializing, really helps. By the way, mobility and activity are not only medicine, but also good prevention. Those who exercise regularly are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. But you shouldn’t hope that sports activities will replace housekeeping. To protect your health, you need real gymnastics - exercises on the sports field, ball games, dancing, swimming... Any exercises that you like and will not be too much of a burden for the body.

What's happening to the brain?

The cause of Parkinson's disease is neurodegeneration. For an as yet unknown reason, brain cells that produce dopamine die. Medicine does not know very many factors that increase the risk of getting sick: contact with solvents, herbicides, pesticides, repeated traumatic brain injuries.

“If we look at the area of ​​the midbrain, we will see a structure called the “substantia nigra.” It is so called because it contains cells that produce dopamine, and they contain a pigment that gives the structure a dark color. This is where cells die. What is dopamine? This substance is a carrier of nerve impulses, it transmits information from cell to cell,” explains Candidate of Medical Sciences, senior researcher at the Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Russian National Research Medical University named after. N.I. Pirogova Natalya Titova. - If there is enough dopamine, then when dopamine receptors are stimulated, adequate control of the system of internal deep structures occurs. In our brain, these structures regulate normal movement. If there is little dopamine or something is wrong with the receptors, then the same motor disorders that we see in our patient appear. The first motor symptoms begin when dopamine reserves are reduced by 80%. Before this, the brain compensates for its defect. The patient falls ill not when the first motor disorders appear, but much earlier.”

The process of neurodegeneration affects the entire brain. Cells begin to die in the lower part of the trunk and rise to the substantia nigra, continues Natalya Titova. Until the destruction reaches the substantia nigra, the premotor stage of the disease occurs. It can last up to 30 years. At this stage of the disease, at its onset, patients may have constipation, impaired sense of smell, depression and behavioral disturbances in a certain phase of sleep.

Degeneration then spreads to the entire brain. Problems begin with memory, attention, and the psyche...

Hands and more

Parkinsonism refers not only to Parkinson's disease itself, but also to its symptoms. And they can appear... when this disease does not exist. But there was a traumatic brain injury. Or a stroke. Or the blood vessels in the brain are out of order. There was no decrease in dopamine, but the functioning of dopamine receptors was disrupted. This kind of parkinsonism is called post-traumatic, post-stroke, vascular...

It is believed that the main symptom of Parkinson's disease is shaking hands. Over time, the patient cannot pour water into a glass, sign on a document, or draw a straight line with a pencil. But in fact, the disease has many more manifestations. The harbinger of illness is often... depression. But most of us have not been paying attention to it for a long time.

How does Parkinson's disease (and in some cases, traumatic brain injury or stroke) manifest itself? Symptoms are very varied:

• slow movements, or bradykinesia. It is difficult for the patient to thread a needle, find keys in his pocket, or get up from a chair. Even facial expressions slow down: over time, the patient’s face turns into a mask. Handwriting can also tell about the disease - towards the end of the line it becomes smaller and smaller;
• speech becomes quiet, slow, monotonous;
• walking disturbances: shuffling, clenching and holding hands close to the body. A healthy person's arms move while walking, while a patient's arms do not move or move very weakly. Only one arm may not move, depending on the brain damage;
• it is difficult for the patient to turn around: he stomps in one place or completely freezes;
• muscle rigidity. Muscle tone increases - minimal muscle tension, which persists even at rest, when a person is resting or sleeping. Due to the fact that the muscles are overly tense, pain begins in them, and it becomes difficult to move;
• tremor. Those same trembling hands that are considered the first sign of illness. At first, the patient's hands tremble weakly and only at rest, when he does not move them. And they only tremble when he is nervous. But the disease progresses, and a condition called “tremor” appears more and more often and becomes stronger. Sometimes the tremors occur even while moving, and it is very difficult to pour soup into a plate or sign a receipt;
• postural instability. The patient has difficulty maintaining balance. He will fall if he is slightly pushed, if he reaches to the side - for example, to take a book from a shelf;
• posture violation. It is difficult for the patient to keep his back straight; he walks and stands in the so-called “supplicant position”, his torso is constantly leaning forward. Quite often it is difficult for a person to bend - both to the sides and straight forward.

When age is not to blame

Movement is not the only ability of the body that Parkinson's disease takes away. Other violations also make a person defenseless and helpless. For example, cognitive impairment.

At first, the patient is simply slow to understand. This condition is attributed to fatigue, age - and... is not treated.

This happens with other signs of the disease: the patient has difficulty learning new things (or cannot learn at all), loses his knowledge and skills, cannot concentrate, is distracted... All this is again attributed to age or, less commonly, to overwork. Meanwhile, the disease develops: and minor problems with attention and memory develop into dementia. Simply put, dementia. Sometimes a person forgets how to solve everyday problems, forgets what year it is, and cannot remember why ordinary household items are needed. Many people call dementia in older people “senile insanity.” And often they don’t even try to treat their relatives.

Why is depression dangerous?

Emotional disorders - depression, anxiety, apathy - almost always accompany the disease. They seriously complicate treatment. Depression and apathy can negate even the effects of the most modern medications. When the patient doesn’t care, treatment is ineffective. But getting the patient out of this state and making him experience any feelings is not an easy task.

Psychotic disorders... A patient who has developed them should not be left alone. After all, we are talking about hallucinations. Visions can be different: people, animals... Sometimes the patient thinks that someone is standing behind him and wants to harm him. What should a person do if they feel something terrible?

Let us remind you: Parkinson’s disease does not begin when the patient’s hands begin to tremble. The brain - like the entire body - resists to the last. The first signs of the disease appear only when the dopamine deficiency reaches 80%.

First signals

Lack of dopamine causes depression. A depressed state should not be considered a risk factor: sadness and melancholy are harbingers of the disease, its first “bells”. And we are not always talking about parkinsonism. Any disruption of the brain affects our mood. And there are many of them - from atherosclerosis and aneurysms to tumors, hematomas and abscesses. From untreated traumatic brain injuries to micro-strokes suffered on the legs (the person felt dizzy, but he did not attach any importance to it).

Magnetic resonance imaging will not detect Parkinson's disease. But it will detect a hematoma, tumor, traces of a stroke or brain contusion... An MRI is necessary. But only the functional neuroimaging method will show the lack of dopamine. No one knows yet how to return dopamine to its place. Science does not yet know all the abilities of the body.

Among the first companions of Parkinson's disease are disturbances in the sense of smell, movement during sleep and... constipation. They accompany the disease further, when it is already actively manifesting itself. And they can be very difficult. Someone suffers from drooling, someone is gaining weight, someone is losing weight... Parkinson's is often accompanied by an overactive bladder, urinary retention or, on the contrary, its frequency. Many patients suffer from insomnia at night and excessive sleepiness during the day. Another feature prevents proper rest during sleep: during the sleep phase, which is characterized by rapid eye movement, patients’ entire body begins to move. They swing their arms and legs, turn quickly... They can fall out of bed, injure themselves or loved ones by accidentally hitting or hitting. And in the morning they may remember that they had a nightmare.

A similar sleep problem begins in the premotor stage of the disease. Even before the patient's hands begin to tremble. Relatives and friends can notice everything in time.

Movement is life!

A diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is unlikely to cause the patient's death. If a person gets sick at 60-65 years old, he will most likely live until he is seventy or even eighty-five. Other diseases “hit” the body. Almost every third patient dies... from pneumonia. A patient with parkinsonism is practically defenseless against pneumonia. Due to the fact that he cannot fully move. A person who has avoided a dangerous illness has a 45 times lower risk of dying from pneumonia!

21% of patients with parkinsonism die from myocardial infarction. The same lack of movement prevents them from surviving and coming to their senses. For the cardiovascular system, as for the lungs, the inability to move is a decisive factor.

Every year it becomes more and more difficult for a sick person to perform the simplest movements. There are five stages of Parkinson's disease: at the first the symptoms are still minor, at the fifth the patient is already sitting in a wheelchair. “When the disease gradually moves to the second stage, postural disturbance of the spine joins the symptoms. When a person begins to fall, this is stage three. At the fourth stage, he can still move independently, but his movement is already limited. Such patients often come with relatives, with sticks and walkers,” says Natalya Titova. It is believed that each stage of the disease lasts three years, but these figures are average. For some, the disease develops rapidly, while others manage to slow it down. Today, medications make it possible to lengthen the third stage to 7-8 years.

Unknown odds

Medicine still doesn’t know much about Parkinson’s disease. How to explain why an elderly patient who falls after taking three steps gets on a bicycle and... rides confidently? Turns are easy for him, and his hands hold the steering wheel as if the man was completely healthy. His back straightens - not at all like when walking.

Patients with parkinsonism were treated in one of the foreign hospitals. Some of them could not move at all. One day a fire started in the hospital. The patients who were unable to walk... ran away. All.

Another case: a heavy object flew at the child from above. His mother, who suffers from Parkinson's, unexpectedly quickly turned around and managed to catch the flying thing. The baby was saved. In ordinary life, the woman turned around with great difficulty.

Where medicines still don’t always work, the will to live and love for loved ones work...

He recently starred in the program “Hello, Andrey!” on the Rossiya TV channel, dedicated to the late actress Natalya Gundareva. “Valentin Iosifovich came to us with an assistant who is caring for him,” said the editor of the program, Natalya Galkovich. “He came hungry, and we, of course, fed him. An elderly man, already over 80, does not feel well. I noticed that he he developed memory lapses."

ON THIS TOPIC

Parkinson's disease, which Gaft suffers from, is neurological in nature with chronic symptoms. It progresses slowly and affects older people. The main manifestation of the disease is a pronounced impairment of motor functions. This disease is otherwise called “shaking paralysis,” which indicates its main symptoms: constant trembling and increased muscle stiffness, as well as difficulty performing directed movements.

“I need care and doctors to always be there,” Gaft cries. He explained why he continues to play in the theater and does not give up going to TV shows: “Medicines are expensive now, medical procedures are too. But I don’t get paid as much on television as, say, Vitalina (Tsymbalyuk-Romanovskaya. - Ed.) "They give her half a million for the program, and for me - from five to 50 thousand. But I’m incredibly happy about this too!”

The artist understands that his age and state of optimism do not add to his optimism. “I don’t want to become a burden for someone, but it’s really hard for me to walk. I’m living, I don’t have much left, and I understand that. My colleagues from Sovremennik Tamara Dyagtereva and Sergei Shekhovtsev recently passed away, it’s a shame. I wasn’t there at their funeral, I can barely move myself. I don’t ask anything from the management of Sovremennik, there are people in the theater to help even without me,” Express Gazeta quotes the sick Gaft. She also publishes a heartbreaking photo of the artist, who looks thin, gaunt and tired.

The famous Russian theater and film actor Valentin Iosifovich Gaft is seriously ill. In 2013, doctors gave him a disappointing diagnosis - Parkinson's disease. For some time he had to stop his work process.

Now the actor’s condition cannot be called satisfactory. He moves in a wheelchair and cannot do without the help of qualified specialists and a nurse. Valentin Gaft lost a lot of weight and began to suffer from forgetfulness. He temporarily suspended his performance in the play.

Valentin Gaft has Parkinson's disease

Valentin Iosifovich Gaft is a famous Russian film and theater actor. Born September 2, 1935. Many people know him from his roles in films such as “Sorcerers”, “Hello, I am your aunt”, “The Master and Margarita” and “Yolki”. The actor has about 200 roles in various films and TV series. He devoted his entire life to participating in various cinematic projects and performances, but at the age of 78 he had to suspend his activities. The fact is that doctors diagnosed the great artist with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is a chronic neurological disease that causes tremors and unsteadiness. For 5 years, the actor tried to fight this disease, but recently his condition has become worse and worse. Now the actor gets around using a wheelchair. According to the actor, in the summer of 2018 he could not even go on vacation to his dacha, as he needed constant care and supervision from doctors. His legal wife Olga Ostroumova is looking after him, for which he never ceases to thank her.

Valentin Gaft said that he is living out his life

The famous Russian actor, who played in about 200 films, is seriously ill. He rarely appears in public, but made an exception for Andrei Malakhov’s program “Hello, Andrei!”

In an interview with the presenter, the famous actor said that now his condition leaves much to be desired. He suffers from Parkinson's disease, which is gradually taking away his strength. Valentin Gaft said that he has very little time left to live, and he understands this very well. But even despite this, he continues to enjoy his life and spends a lot of time with his love, his wife Olya.

The editors of the project report that the actor’s condition off camera is much worse than what can be seen on television. Behind the scenes he feels bad, he suffers from forgetfulness, but as soon as the camera turns on, Valentin Iosifovich instantly transforms, which once again emphasizes the height of his acting abilities.

Valentin Gaft spoke about the possibility of continuing to act in performances

Valentin devoted his entire life to theater and cinema. After he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he had to stop acting for a while. At the age of 83, the actor declares that he intends to continue his work in productions. After all, it is his work that helps him cope with his illness.

Now he is participating in the play “As Long as Space Exists” at his favorite Sovremennik Theater. But due to problems with his legs, actor Valentin Gaft had to stop playing in it. As the artist himself reports, in the fall he plans to return to the theater stage to continue doing his favorite thing. But he emphasizes that he will only be able to do this if he can walk.