valerie harper has terminal cancer

Valerie Harper reveals terminal cancer; famous friends react
Comments 30Valerie Harper has announced that she has terminal brain cancer and may not live to see her next birthday.

By Christie D'Zurilla

March 6, 2013, 4:05 p.m.
Valerie Harper, who played Rhoda Morgenstern on TV's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spinoff "Rhoda," has terminal cancer, the actress revealed Wednesday morning. And through the day, friends and fans expressed their support.

Harper has the rare condition leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, which occurs when cancer spreads to the fluid-filled membranes that surround the brain, People reported in a cover story due out later this week. The 73-year-old, a nonsmoker, in 2009 battled lung cancer, which according to the National Institutes of Health is one of the cancers most often linked to involvement of those membranes.

A day before going public, Harper called former costar Moore to share the news, People said. Moore, 76, said Wednesday that she was "absolutely devastated" over her friend's situation. Moore, incidentally, had surgery in May 2011 to remove a benign tumor from the membrane surrounding her own brain.
By rae121452 | 03/07/2013 07:43 PM | 5 comments
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  • I would suggest the book Final Gifts. A beautiful look at death by two hospice nurses. That being said I would like to go out like my Grandma and my aunt. They both went peacefully at home, in their sleep. My grandma sleeping, in a chair at the window, waiting for my cousin to come home form a date. My aunt home from a St. Paddy's Day party, went to bed. My cousin found the next am in bed with a rosary in her hand. The perfect exit for a grand old Irish matriarch.
    jacker 03/08/2013 11:21 AM
  • Yes zip he was a hunk. That was David Groh (pronounced grow) and he played Joe.
    Bear, not sure I'd like to know in advance either. I always say if a doctor told me I had X-amount of time to live I'd go out and buy a bottle of rum and a pack of cigarettes. After not drinking or smoking for years, I'd go out drunk and with a cigarette in my mouth. Hopefully one more cock too.....
    fenwaydav 03/08/2013 04:56 AM
  • I've debated whether it's better to know in advance that your time is about to be up or whether it's better to just die of a sudden heart attack.

    On the one hand, it would be nice to be able to have some time to get things in order, plus I don't think the family is shocked that way. But that's not to say that's easier on the family. I've seen how difficult it can be on a family to have to take care of a terminal family member.
    BearinFW 03/08/2013 04:31 AM
  • Yes, I loved Rhoda on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show." Then, also on her own spin-off called simply "Rhoda." But the really nice thing about her show was the hunky guy who played her husband. I don't remember his name (role or actor), but I remember his body. Yummm

    Bygone days - great innocent humor with insights along the way. Life seemed lighter then.
    rjzip 03/07/2013 10:58 PM
  • It's so hard for me to believe she's 73. I still see her as Rhoda. Was very sorry to hear this.
    fenwaydav 03/07/2013 09:57 PM