Proving that self exams and mamograms are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, Christina Applegate is CANCER FREE! From People.com...
By Sharon Cotliar and Stephen M. Silverman
Christina Applegate Photo by: Baxter / Abaca
Christina Applegate, who was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer this month, revealed on ABC's Good Morning America Tuesday that she has undergone a double mastectomy - even though cancer was only detected in one of her breasts.
Privately, she admits, "Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I scream, and I get really angry and I get really into wallowing in self-pity sometimes, and I think it's all part of healing."
Having watched her mother, Nancy Priddy, battle breast cancer - and then suffer from a recurrence many years later - the Emmy-nominated star of Samantha Who?, 36, told interviewer Robin Roberts that she wasn't taking any chances, especially since she has the breast cancer gene, BRCA1.
"My decision, after looking at all the treatment plans that were possibilities for me, the only one that seemed the most logical and the one that was going to work for me was to have a bilateral mastectomy," said Applegate. "So basically I had a prophylactic double mastectomies."
Explaining her rationale in taking that dramatic step, she said, "I didn't want to go back to the doctors every four months for testing and squishing and everything. I just wanted to kind of be rid of this whole thing for me. This was the choice that I made, and it was a tough one."
The surgery took place three weeks ago. She did not undergo radiation or chemotherapy.
Applegate, whose initial reaction when she received her diagnosis, was. "Oh my god. I was so pissed off, so mad ... I was just shaking." But then, she said, "Immediately I had to go into take-care-of-business mode."
Plans for Reconstructive Surgery
Asked her prognosis, Applegate told Roberts, also a cancer survivor, "I'm clear. Absolutely 100-percent clear and clean."
Over the next eight months she will undergo reconstructive surgery. I'm gonna have cute boobs till I'm 90," she quipped, as Roberts pointed out how Applegate's sense of humor has helped the actress endure the ordeal.
Applegate also cited her 67-year-old mother, whom she described as "a quiet warrior."
"I watched her have a mastectomy, and then I watched her go through two years of chemotherapy and eight surgeries and a hysterectomy," said Applegate. "I've watched this woman survive both of those things, so for me there was always that sense that I was going to be okay, no matter what."
Early Detection Was Key
Applegate, who began getting mammograms at the age of 30 because of her family's medical history, said the cancer was detected through an MRI ordered by her doctor as a follow-up to a biopsy she had last year.
"Besides me being really vigilant about it [mammograms and self-examinations], it is the No.-1 reason I am going to live."
Having become familiar to TV audiences in her role as sassy teen Kelly Bundy on Married ... With Children, Applegate said she plans to return to the set of ABC's Samantha Who? when filming resumes in September.
She is also set to appear in the all-star TV special Stand Up to Cancer, airing Sept. 5 on ABC, CBS and NBC and raising funds for cancer research. Applegate also noted she plans to raise money for MRIs and gene testing.
...That's great news for her, and another great reminder for us to continue to do self exams. In fact, when was the last time you did one.
OOOOh boy, here we go! Anniston's friends fight back against a very vocal Mayer! Meow! From Justjared.com...
After John Mayer's very public statements regarding his break-up with Jennifer Aniston, her friends are rallying support around the former Friends star.
"Jen will never kiss and tell, but it's she who ended the relationship," a source close to Jen says. "(Mayer's) childish behavior only confirms she was right to dump him. Now he's acting like a spoiled child. Expect Jen to behave like a lady."
According to John, "I ended a relationship to be alone, because I don't want to waste somebody's time if something's not right."
Another source close to Jen said, "Jen was tired of paying for everything. Cobwebs come flying out of (Mayer's) wallet when he opens it. John liked living like a movie star when he was with her. ... Jen would never say anything, but you could tell it irritated her."
...I think I'm going to believe Jenn's friends on this one. He didn't need to talk to the pappz, he CHOSE to.
John Mayer is talking WAY too much! From UsWeekly...
John Mayer defended Jennifer Aniston and described their recent breakup as "the most normal thing in the world" as he spoke to a group of photographers in the SoHo area of New York City Saturday.
"If you guys are going to run stuff and run every lie under the sun, have somebody stand up for somebody," the singer challenged. "Have me as a man who ended a relationship stand here and write some truth. Have me stand up for somebody and write that Jennifer Aniston is the smartest, most sophisticated person I think I've ever met.
"She's one of the most lovely people I've ever met in my life and I'm going through something that's a very personal thing and you have to give that up," he said. "You have to give everything up because you can't have it all and it sucks."
"I'm sorry that the story's not interesting," the 30-year-old added. "But it's about time that somebody stands up for that girl and I think she's great."
Mayer reflected on the situation as "the most normal thing in the world - There's no lying, there's no cheating. There's no nothing.
"People are different, they have different chemistry, they have different lives," he said. "It's not about years, it's about going out with somebody, being truthful on the way in, being truthful in the middle and being truthful on the way out."
Mayer snapped at a reporter who asked if he's dating anyone else.
"Why are you asking me that question? I'm being as honest as I can possibly can be," he responded. "I ended a relationship because there is no lying. I ended a relationship to be alone because I don't want to waste somebody's time if something's not right. I don't waste people's time.
"I don't do 'the taper,'" he continued. "I guarantee you [that] 20 percent of the people on this street right now who are in a relationship wish they could get out but they don't know how. And I'm going to be honest on the way in to my relationships and I'm going to be honest on the way out of my relationships."
"I just feel like spending a million dollars right now to put a mirror in every Us Weekly so that when you're reading about it, you go, 'Oh, that was me two years ago' or 'That was me a year ago,'" he said.
"You're either a cheater or you breakup," he explained. "And I'm not the first. I'm the second one. And that's it. There's no lying, there's no b-llsh-t, I just don't want to be followed around New York City like an animal."
On Thursday, Aniston's rep denied a report that she's dating model Matt Felker. In the new issue of Us Weekly, available now, a mutual pal said that the 39-year-old actress' romance with Mayer (public since April) is "cooling off" after she expressed her desire for commitment - and a baby.
"These are mature people who talk about things maturely," the pal said. "It's just slowed down."
Another source countered: "If she said she wants kids and he's not ready, that's not being needy. It's being honest."
Check out the latest issue of Us Weekly for the complete story of what went wrong with their rocky romance, including how Aniston turned him off, his kinky behavior and his obsession with her ex Brad Pitt.
...Is it just me or is Mayer talking WAY too much. Its great that he wants to stand up for her, but to keep repeating that he ended the relationship seems awfully self serving. Just shut mouth and walk away. Poor Jen... can't the media just let her be!
Madonna celebrates BIG 5-0 with hubby Guy by her side. From THE SUN UK...
Planning a shindig for the dancefloor veteran must be like throwing a garden party for the other Queen.
But the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director made sure it was one his missus wouldn't forget on Saturday night by making an emotive speech that helped dispel rumours the couple are on the brink of splitting.
Guy got up in front of 90 of his wife's pals at the Volstead nightclub bash in London's West End and paid tribute to her amazing career.
He spoke of his pride at being her husband before adding: "She looks better now than she ever has done. I'm so proud. I love her so much."
Energy
And just in case there were any dry eyes left in the house, Madge's daughter LOURDES stepped up to sing.
The 11-year-old belted out Never Alone from the musical Fame, proving she could follow in her mum's giant footsteps if she chooses.
Gym visit ... Madge yesterday GoffPhotos.com
Touched Madge then composed herself enough to say her thanks to friends and family - in a speech that lasted almost 30 mouth-drying minutes.
I'm surprised she had the energy for the speech after a night of dancing - to her own music.
Madge appeared to be using the party as a final run-through for her world tour, which starts in Cardiff on Saturday. She gyrated along to her back catalogue and kids Lourdes, ROCCO and DAVID joined in too.
But Guy did what any self-respecting husband should and appreciated the show from the bar, lager in hand.
Of the guests at the £100,000 party, 40 were Madonna's dancers. A friend said: "She loved it when her songs came on. Her dancers were pulling out all the moves, breakdancing around her. It was like a final rehearsal for the tour."
Madge must have been dancing without the aid of too much ale as she was able to get to the gym yesterday.
Other guests, though, did their best to drink through the £20,000 Guy left behind the bar. They also scoffed the Kabbalah-friendly kosher banquet on offer.
Entertainment was provided by creepy American magician DAVID BLAINE. I suppose it beats a bloke making animals out of balloons.
...and what does a hubby get the woman who has everything...News of the World reported that he commissioned graffiti artist Banksy (Brad Pitt is a big fan) to design a portrait of Madonna for $900,000.
...50 and fabulous! Something we can all strive for.
Happy Monday to you! It's a very Happy Monday indeed for Ellen and Portia. From People.com...By Julie Jordan
Portia de Rossi (left) and Ellen DeGeneres Photo by: Lester Cohen / WireImage
Ring the wedding bells!
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have tied the knot.
"Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi were married tonight in an intimate ceremony at their home in Los Angeles," their spokesperson tells PEOPLE exclusively.
DeGeneres, 50, and de Rossi, 35, both wore Zac Posen and exchanged rings by Neil Lane during the Saturday ceremony. Their big day also featured arrangements by L.A. florist Mark's Garden.
The intimate ceremony was attended by 19 guests, including DeGeneres's mom Betty and de Rossi's mother Margaret Rogers (who flew in from Australia for the occasion), who witnessed the couple exchange handwritten vows.
The couple have been dating since December 2004. DeGeneres announced her plans to wed de Rossi during a taping of her talk show in May after California's Supreme Court ruled a previous ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional.
Photo by: Gregg DeGuire / WireImage
The following month de Rossi showed off a 3-carat diamond ring set on a pink pavé band DeGeneres presented to her for their upcoming nuptials when the pair attended the Daytime Emmy Awards together.
"She's taught me lessons about myself, and I feel like I've taught her," the TV host said of de Rossi last year. "We've both changed and grown, and we just feel like, 'Oh, okay, this is completion.'"
