Posts Tagged ‘Breast Cancer’

OK! Interview: Melissa Etheridge

October 3rd, 2008

Melissa Etheridge can’t wait for Christmas to arrive. So much so, she’s released a new Christmas album two-and-a-half months before the big holiday!

OK! caught up with the Grammy winner, who’s married to Tammy Lynn Michaels, (the couple has four children) at Hard Rock’s Pinktober Launch Event at the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios in L.A. Melissa says it’s her kids who revived the spirit of Christmas for her family.

"Having them become adults and realize that a lot of the things I believe and feel come in direct conflict with the fundamentals of a lot of this stuff that Christmas is based on, I was kind of like, ‘Aw, doggonit.’ But I still celebrate it for my kids because it’s Christmas, even though it would seem out of context."

 

It was also her children who inspired her to make A New Thought for Christmas, her new Christmas album that dropped Sept. 30.

 

"I decided last year as I was listening to Christmas music I was thinking, ‘Why, this time of year, for thousands of years, we’ve been celebrating at this time of year because of the solstice, the sun, when the days are the shortest and the nights are the longest, it’s a wonderful thing…And I feel like we’ve lost that, so I wanted to make a Christmas album for everybody else."

 

Melissa, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 at the age of 43, famously took the stage — minus a head of hair — at the 2005 Grammys. The singer tells OK! that it was around this time that she decided the time was right to go public with her fight.

"It was when I did the Grammys, which was my first step back into it and that was pretty intense, but I knew I needed to take that opportunity when it came and I knew it was the right thing to do," she says.

The singer went through chemotherapy, which she describes as being "painful," and it was during that time that she re-evaluated her lifestyle, specifically her diet.

"When you realize that we’re the spirit that’s in our bodies and our bodies are like the vehicles that take us around, you realize that you have to take care of that body," she tells OK!. "I mean, I love french fries, yet I know there are certain oils that you can cook potatoes in that are less healthy for you, that create an imbalance."

She continues, "I have days when I say, ‘I’m going to have five chocolate chip cookies today.’ I’ll have a salad every day but every week I have a cheat day. And, I never look at it as weight. Weight isn’t a factor in nutritional health."

 

Melissa just celebrated her fifth wedding anniversary to Tammy Lynn Michaels. Of marriage, Etheridge says, "Tammy, she’s the greatest mom in the world, and my children are the most awesome children ever," she gushes. "That’s probably the best, [thing about being married] you know they’re there no matter what and you can go through things like cancer and she’s right there with me."

Melissa adds, "I used to always be afraid that I was going to make a mistake, but you do, you make mistakes and you just have to trust that you do it from love, you do the best you can and that’s the right thing."

By Jennifer Birn

Cynthia Nixon: Breast Cancer Survivor

October 2nd, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Cynthia Nixon is opening up to OK! about her battle– and victory over breast cancer two years ago.  The Sex and the City star, who walked 3.1 miles with her mom (also a breast cancer survivor) at the 2008 Komen NYC Race for the Cure, says it was family and friends who got her through the first weeks of being diagnosed.

"They told me they were thinking about me," the actress, 42, says. "After my operation, some friends made me dinner at my house."

Nixon’s mother battled and beat breast cancer when Cynthia was just 13. As a result, Nixon says the knowledge that she herself might develop the disease was always in the back of her mind.

"It’s a thought in the back of women’s minds, particularly if it’s in your family," Nixon tells OK!. "When I was diagonosed, it wasn’t a big surprise."

But, Nixon tells OK!, "I don’t carry the breast cancer gene. That’s a big load off my mind — for myself and for my daughter," she says, adding that she told her kids, "That it runs in our family. But as you can see from me and your grandmother, it’s not a death sentence."

For the entire interview with Cynthia Nixon, pick up the new OK! — on newwstands everywhere now!

Ellen Talks Breast Cancer

October 2nd, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Ellen DeGeneres has a lot to be happy about.  She has a hit talk show and is newly married to the beautiful Portia de Rossi.

But life wasn’t always happy-go-lucky for the comedienne. When Ellen was 16, her mother, Betty, was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

"It was a bad time," Ellen, now 50, tells OK!. "She went in because she had a lump, and she woke up and her breast was gone.  Now it may have been handled differently.  She’s doing fine 30 years later, but she had a mastectomy.  It’s devastating to see your mom go through something like this."

Ellen says her mother’s fight inspired her to live a healthier life. She and Portia are both vegans and Ellen is integrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month into her daily talk show.

"I think anything is possible," she tells OK!. "I believe in faith, and I think we have to find a cure and a cause.  We need to start looking at what’s in our food and our environment."

She continues, "I have this amazing opportunity to reach a lot of people and shine a light on certain things that need attention."

Ellen’s cause is backed by her legal other half, Portia de Rossi. Of being a newlywed, Ellen says, "Marriage is the greatest.  I had no idea it would feel so different.  You can have a commitment and say, ‘This is it’, but there’s just something about being married…I just feel like I’m home.  I’m so happy and more in love.  It’s great."

 

For more on OK!’s interview with Ellen, pick up the new issue of OK! — on newsstands everywhere now!

Melissa Etheridge Wants to Get Married

October 1st, 2008

In the latest example of a celebrity couple to take advantage of the legalization of gay marriage in California, Melissa Etheridge says she and girlfriend Tammy Lynn Michaels will tie the knot eventually.

 

“Yes, we have four children and we’re trying to find the right time," she tells Extra after being asked if the couple will get married.

 

Melissa is also a breast cancer survivor, and recently supported the cause by performing at Universal City’s Hard Rock Cafe to launch Pinktober, a month long breast cancer awareness program.

 

Click here to check out OK!’s gallery celebrating breast cancer survivors.

 

When the singer found out about her diagnosis four years ago, she and girlfriend Tammy Lynn broke the news to their children together.

 

"They were there when I discussed the lump with Tammy…and [we] said, ‘Mama has a lump in her breast and this lump could be many things, but we need to check and see what it is because if it is a cold, it might spread to her whole body and be really bad for it.’ "

 

Tune in to tonight’s interview with Melissa on Extra for more. 
 

OK! Exclusive: Hoda Kotb

October 1st, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Hoda Kotb: Second Chance at Life

October 1st, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Today show co-host Hoda Kotb says she was blindsided when doctors told her she had breast cancer in 2007.  Now the self-proclaimed "health nut," 44, is opening up to OK! about how the diagnosis changed her life, for the better.

CLICK HERE for OK!’s exclusive photos of Hoda!

"I’m a real health-nut so when I went for a routine visit she felt something and said, ‘Maybe you should go check that,’ " Hoda says of first learning something was wrong.  "I got the biopsy on a Friday. On Monday, the doctor calls me at my office and says, ‘Not good news for you…’ One of the interns said to me, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ I just melted."

 

Hoda admits that at first, she was afraid. "When someone says the ‘C’ word, it’s overwhelming," she tells OK!. "You’re freaking out because you think when people have cancer, they die. It was one of those moments where you reevaluate your life."

CLICK HERE for OK!’s look at the superstars who are beating breast cancer.

Hoda’s diagnosis was even more shocking because she says there was no history of cancer in her family. 

"Why me? We don’t have cancer in our family. I’m young. And then I started the business of figuring out what do do," she says.

Hoda had a mastectomy, but says she didn’t do chemotherapy or radiation. Instead, she took Tamoxifen [a drug that reduces the chance of recurrence], explaining, "I didn’t want to carpet bomb my whole body with poison to get what could be one stray cell."

The news co-host says her family helped her through her darkest days. And her advice for other women? "Do exactly what I didn’t do! When you hit 40, get a mammogram!" Kotb says. "Don’t be afraid and think, ‘What if something happens?’"

Today, Hoda is doing well and says she owes it all to a higher power.

"I feel so lucky," she says. "It’s like somebody is saying, ‘You get another go.’ Starting today, you get one more chance. I feel like I’m on the side of angels."

 

For the entire interview with Hoda Kotb, pick up the new OK! – on newsstands everywhere on Thursday!

Christina Applegate Staying Positive

August 6th, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Christina Applegate isn’t going down without a fight. The 36-year-old Samantha Who star is going about her daily routine, including taping episodes of her ABC show, despite revealing on Aug. 3 that she has breast cancer.

“She’s like this tiny little thing,” co-star Melissa McCarthy tells OK!. “But she’s bionically strong.”

Even before the startling cancer revelation, the summer has been hard for Christina: her ex-boyfriend Lee Grivas died of a drug overdose on July 3 at only 26 years old.

Personal tragedies aside, it seems Christina is ready to battle her disease and is on target for a speedy recovery. “It was detected early on,” a close friend reports to OK! “It’s not life threatening, and she remains very positive throughout this, surrounded by her family and friends.” Christina’s mother, Nancy Lee Priddy, also survived breast cancer.

Christina Applegate Stays Positive About Cancer

August 5th, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Christina Applegate isn’t going down without a fight. The 36-year-old Samantha Who star is going about her daily routine, including taping episodes of her ABC show, despite revealing on Aug. 3 that she has breast cancer.

"She’s like this tiny little thing," co-star Melissa McCarthy tells OK!. "But she’s bionically strong."

Even before the startling cancer revelation, the summer has been hard for Christina: her ex-boyfriend Lee Grivas died of a drug overdose on July 3 at only 26 years old.

Personal tragedies aside, it seems Christina is ready to battle her disease and is on target for a speedy recovery. "It was detected early on," a close friend reports to OK! "It’s not life threatening, and she remains very positive throughout this, surrounded by her family and friends." Christina’s mother, Nancy Lee Priddy, also survived breast cancer.

Cynthia Nixon Shared Cancer Diagnosis with Kristin Davis

May 7th, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Cynthia Nixon kept her breast cancer battle hush-hush from the public when she learned of her diagnosis two years ago, but one person who was aware of her secret fight was Sex and the City co-star Kristin Davis.

"I kept it very quiet. I told Kristin because she happened to be at my house," the actress reveals to Extra.

Recalls Kristin, "She sits me down in Cynthia fashion and says, ‘I have something to tell you. I have breast cancer.’"

The news was a shock to the brunette, who was unable to sit down afterwards. "She stood up in her chair," Cynthia recalls. "I couldn’t get her down until I told her everything I was doing and assured her everything was going to be okay."

The Emmy winner went about her treatment, which included a lumpectomy and radiation, quietly and is now celebrating her one-year anniversary of being cancer-free.

After revealing her battle on Good Morning America last month, Cynthia, 42, announced plans to work with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer foundation.

”I want to help Susan G. Komen for the Cure educate the 1.1 million women around the globe who face a diagnosis each year," she said.

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