Rebecca King-Crews, wife of actor Terry Crews, says a recent non‑invasive brain procedure has significantly eased Parkinson’s symptoms on the right side of her body and restored basic abilities she had lost, including the use of her right hand to write. The couple discussed her decade‑long battle with the degenerative disease on Monday’s episode of Today, where King‑Crews described the treatment as a pivotal step in her recovery and announced plans for a second procedure to treat the left side later this year.
King‑Crews, a singer‑songwriter who married Terry Crews in 1989, revealed she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015 after a three‑year diagnostic process following the first signs in 2012. “I feel good. I’m able to write my name and my dates and I’m able to write with my right hand for the first time in probably three years,” she told the show. She also said she can now perform a port de bras — balancing on her right leg — indicating measurable gains in balance and motor control.
The treatment she received is focused ultrasound, which King‑Crews described as “non‑invasive” and performed “without cutting me open.” She said doctors targeted regions of the brain responsible for tremor and motor symptoms, and that the approach — already used to treat certain tumors and other conditions — avoids surgical risks such as bleeding. The procedure improved only the right side of her body, she explained, and a second session scheduled for September will address the left side. “Part of the procedure is to improve symptoms, so you’re improved on one side and not on the other. It can make you a little more aware of the other,” she said, adding that the improvements she’s experienced so far give her hope.
King‑Crews said she chose to speak publicly not for sympathy but to raise awareness about the option and the barriers to access. She noted the treatment is expensive and “not covered yet,” urging others with Parkinson’s to consider it and expressing optimism that a cure will be found. Terry Crews echoed that optimism, calling his wife a “superhero” and describing the moment he watched her write her name after years of tremor and impaired coordination as deeply emotional. “To watch her go through what she’s going through over the last 10 to 12 years, it’s been very, very hard,” he said.
The couple also touched on King‑Crews’ broader health history. She is now “100 percent cancer‑free” after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2020 and subsequent double mastectomy, a struggle her husband said has only strengthened their marriage. The Parkinson’s diagnosis followed a period in which initial symptoms, including foot numbness and a diminished arm swing, were misattributed to anxiety, and she pushed for a specialist referral that led to the eventual diagnosis.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive movement disorder that affects the central nervous system and has no known cure; medications and surgical interventions can help control symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. Focused ultrasound is an emerging, less invasive option for certain patients with tremor‑dominant Parkinson’s, but experts caution that eligibility, effectiveness and insurance coverage vary. King‑Crews’ account brings attention to both the promise of newer therapies and the practical challenges patients face in accessing them.