Rumer Willis Says It's 'Important' to Share Information About Dad Bruce's FTD Diagnosis: 'It's a Gift to Be Vulnerable'

Rumer Willis is happy she can talk about her father Bruce Willis' frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis, a progressive brain disorder that affects behavior, personality and language.

"I think it’s so important. I think so many people have so much love for my dad — an immense amount, too. The outpouring of love that we have seen as a family in the last couple of years has been beautiful. I get stopped by random people being like, 'Send your dad your love,' or people sharing stories of their family members who have struggled with FTD. It’s so insane to me that this is such a rampant illness that has never been talked about. That’s crazy to me," the actress, 38, exclusively tells OK! while talking about her partnership with Function, a health membership that offers 160+ advanced lab tests, imaging and specialized assessments.

"At the same time, it’s a delicate balance because I’m such an oversharer. I love oversharing on dates, interviews, whatever it is. While I do think that there’s a time and place for privacy with certain things, I also think it’s a gift to be vulnerable. I think it’s a gift to share because we’re all just out here feeling like we’re doing it by ourselves. We’re all out here feeling stressed because the dishes aren’t done and like, 'Oh my gosh, am I a good mom? Did I pick the right school? Am I brushing my teeth enough?' We all have a thousand things. I think when you’re sharing about it openly, and you can recognize yourself in someone else’s challenge, I feel like there’s more hope there, right?" she continues.

Rumer, who shares daughter Louetta with ex Derek Richard Thomas, is in awe of her stepmom, Emma Heming Willis, for launching The Emma & Bruce Willis Fund in March to support frontotemporal dementia (FTD) research and family caregivers.

"There’s just so much stuff constantly. I hope that conversations and the incredible work my stepmom, Emma, is doing with the foundation she started can help get more families answers. Hopefully, at some point in my lifetime, we can find a cure or something that will help keep family members with this around longer for their families," she says.

Since her father’s health battle came to light, Rumer has made it a priority to take control of her own health so she can be there for her daughter and loved ones — making her partnership with Function a natural fit.

"I think we’re always outsourcing validation about our health to other places, right? Whether it’s your pediatrician, your gynecologist, your acupuncturist, whatever. We’re always looking for someone else to kind of go, 'Oh, if my back hurts, if my stomach hurts, this is what’s wrong.' For me, I’m such an information gatherer. I love it, and I know so many people are, especially in this day and age of peptides and biohacking and all of the things. But I feel like it’s also kind of the Wild West, and I think it can lead to maybe taking something that you don’t necessarily need — or you’re taking this, and you have too much of this, but you actually need more of this, right? We kind of don’t know," she shares. "You can go and get a fancy blood test somewhere, but then they’re just saying, 'Oh, your levels look good,' and you’re not really understanding what’s happening in your body."

Now more than ever, Rumer says "it’s important to understand what’s going on for yourself so that you can advocate for yourself."

Since Rumer wants to "have a lot more kids," she has been focused on "optimizing" her reproductive health in the last few years.

"One of the coolest things for me is being able to see my AMH [Anti-Müllerian Hormone] has gone up and my reproductive health has improved because I stopped wearing perfume, I stopped wearing workout gear, and while those all may be anecdotal at this point to certain community members, I feel like that’s made a huge difference. To be able to see those numbers going up, or see what your biological age is, or be able to get more information with genetic testing, look at food allergies — there are certain foods where I can go, 'All right, maybe if I just cut this out for a little while, I can come back to it.' Thankfully, I don’t have any crazy, crazy allergies like most people, but I’m such a junkie for knowledge," she shares.

"I think being able to walk into a doctor’s office and advocate for yourself — if you’re a woman who’s struggling with infertility and you’re going into your gynecologist’s office and you get about a four-and-a-half-minute visit, you can say, 'Hey, this is what’s going on, and I need support,'" she adds.

No matter what someone is dealing with, the membership has so many amazing features.

"I love that you can really tailor it to what specifically is either a concern or of interest to you. It’s really kind of choose-your-own-adventure to see, and you can keep adding to it. So you can get a baseline if that’s where you want to start," she says.

Now that Rumer has moved to Nashville with her daughter, she's taking the time to focus on herself in this "new chapter."

"I want to expand my family this year. I don’t know what that will look like. Being able to recalibrate my body, focus on my health — I have this time where I don’t have a partner, and it’s just me and Louetta, and I don’t have any other kids. It’s been really lovely to have an opportunity to prioritize my health, to go do these tests with Function," she says.

She adds, "I’m going to do an MRI to focus on preventative stuff so that as I get busier, as Louetta gets older, as our family gets bigger, I’m laying the foundation not only for myself, but I’m getting to share it with the rest of my family as well. I think we’re all in an era where we’re kind of focusing on our health a bit more, which feels really nice. I know all of us are grateful to just have this incredible tool at our disposal."