Phil Robertson’s family shares an update on their patriarch’s health.

On Friday, December 6th, edition of the Shameless with the Robertson family Podcast, the Duck Dynasty Alum’s son Jase revealed that his father is in the “early stages” of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Phil isn’t feeling well. I think I spoke on the 1000th podcast. “We tried to find out the diagnosis, but according to the doctors, they are sure that he is suffering from a blood disease that is causing all sorts of problems,” he said.

Jase, 55, added that the illness “has accelerated and is causing problems with his entire body.”

“And he suffers from early-stage Alzheimer’s. So when you add it all up, he’s just not doing well. He’s really struggling,” he added.

PEOPLE has reached out to Phil’s reps for comment.

In addition to Jase, 78-year-old Phil is also father to sons Al, Jep and Willie, who he shares with his wife Kay, known as Miss Kay. Phil is also the father of a daughter named Phyllis.

Jase said his father, who is part of the podcast but did not appear on the episode, wants to return to work.

“I thought, ‘Well, Phil, you can barely walk around without screaming in pain, and your memory ain’t what it used to be.’ He says, ‘Tell me about it.’ So he’s literally unable – I think he would agree – to just sit down and have a conversation,” he said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common cause of dementia, include forgetting recent events or conversations. The disease can cause severe memory loss and, over time, affects a person’s ability to complete everyday tasks, the organization adds.

“We’re trying to do a lot of things to figure out how we can make him more comfortable and maybe improve his memory,” Jase said.

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“We have a team of doctors and then we have another group of doctors looking at all the tests and they all agree there is no cure for what he has. And you know, what do you do? We’re trying to make him a little more comfortable,” he said.