Music legend David Cassidy recently revealed that he has been diagnosed with dementia and is stepping out of the spotlight after a half-century of performing. The former teen heartthrob and star of the 1970s TV show The Partridge Family, says his diagnosis came two-and-half-years ago after friends and family grew concerned about his behavior and a visit to the doctor revealed he was suffering from the debilitating disease that plagued his mother and grandfather.

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In the video above, from his exclusive interview with Dr. Phil airing Wednesday, Cassidy, who says he took care of his mother for the last seven years of her life, shares what he says he told his son upon learning about his diagnosis.

“I always said to my friends and to my son, ‘If you ever see me get to the place that my mother has become, I said if you ever see me like this, I want you to promise me you’ll find a way to let me go and don’t let me live like that, please,’” the singer and actor says.

WATCH: David Cassidy Says Son Is ‘Probably The Reason That I Didn’t Kill Myself

“That’s a burden to put on a child,” Dr. Phil says.

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