lspencer534
08-30-2019, 7:37pm
31050
It's a sad day in Hollywood, as veteran actress Valerie Harper has died after a decade-long battle with cancer. The sitcom actress is perhaps best known for portraying the classic TV character Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off Rhoda, later leading her very own sitcom series simply called Valerie. On Friday, Harper's family confirmed her passing, although the exact cause of death wasn't disclosed. The award-winning actress was 80 years old.
Valerie Harper was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009. She was later diagnosed in 2013 with a rare condition known as leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, where the cancer cells spread into the membrane surrounding her brain. Doctors gave Harper an estimated three months to live, but the actress chose to aggressively fight the disease with chemotherapy. What was thought to be three months would ultimately turn into six more years for the movie and TV legend, but by the summer of 2019, Harper's condition had reportedly worsened to the point where she needed 24/7 care.
It's a sad day in Hollywood, as veteran actress Valerie Harper has died after a decade-long battle with cancer. The sitcom actress is perhaps best known for portraying the classic TV character Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off Rhoda, later leading her very own sitcom series simply called Valerie. On Friday, Harper's family confirmed her passing, although the exact cause of death wasn't disclosed. The award-winning actress was 80 years old.
Valerie Harper was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009. She was later diagnosed in 2013 with a rare condition known as leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, where the cancer cells spread into the membrane surrounding her brain. Doctors gave Harper an estimated three months to live, but the actress chose to aggressively fight the disease with chemotherapy. What was thought to be three months would ultimately turn into six more years for the movie and TV legend, but by the summer of 2019, Harper's condition had reportedly worsened to the point where she needed 24/7 care.