On Surviving Breast Cancer, Overcoming Fear, and the On-Air Mammogram that May Have Just Saved Her Life

by Kaylene Chadwell and Laura Shipp

When Amy Robach made the move from the host position at NBC’s Weekend Today to take a job at rival network ABC’s Good Morning America. Little did she know at the time that her new job may have helped save her life.

In September 2013, GMA producers approached Amy with the idea of her getting a mammogram live on the show to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. Amy was 40 years old, had never had a mammogram, and didn’t have a family history of breast cancer. That was the exact demographic GMA wanted to reach. 

At first, Amy was hesitant. (After all, who wants their mammogram broadcast live to millions of television viewers?) So she turned to GMA cohost and breast cancer survivor Robin Roberts for advice. Robin encouraged her by saying that if just one life was saved because of early detection, it would be worth it. With that, Amy knew what she had to do.

The Mammogram Broadcast Live to Millions  

When the day of her mammogram arrived, like many women, Amy was nervous about the potential pain and physical discomfort it might cause, not to mention the millions of people who would be watching. “I was nervous about how it was going to look having a live camera right there on me as I was getting a mammogram,” she confesses in an interview with Coping magazine. “But more than that, I was worried about whether it would be effective. I didn’t want it to be a distraction to what we were trying to do, which was encourage women to get mammograms and to show that it isn’t that painful or scary.” 

The one thing she wasn’t worried about, however, were the results. “I honestly thought it was nearly impossible for me to have breast cancer given my age and my lack of family history,” Amy admits. “Even when I got the call from the mammogram technician saying, Hey, we see something a little suspicious; you should have a follow-up mammogram, alarm bells didn’t go off.”

The Diagnosis that Shook Her World  

Still convinced she couldn’t possibly have cancer, Amy kept her breezy composure through a series of follow-up tests, including a second mammogram and a needle biopsy. In fact, cancer was such a remote possibility to her that she even came to her appointments alone. It seemed she had nerves of steel. 

I honestly thought it was nearly impossible for me to have breast cancer given my age and my lack of family history.

Then the results came in. The mass in her right breast – the one that was first spotted during her reluctant on-air mammogram – was malignant. Amy was floored.

“I had a visceral, guttural reaction,” Amy shares. “To say I was sobbing is an understatement. There was nothing anyone could have told me that would have been more shocking than that. I didn’t know how to react. My entire world collapsed, and I was there alone. It was absolutely the worst day of my life.”

As soon as they got the news, Amy’s family rallied to her side. But they were just as new to cancer as she was. So the next day, Amy picked up the phone and called the one person she knew would understand. Once again, her friend and colleague Robin Roberts was there to give her the emotional support and the “I’ve been where you are” advice she needed. 

Right away, Amy knew she wanted to continue sharing her experience with the public. “I felt a deep responsibility to share my news,” she confides, “because I knew that when women who had watched me go into that mammogram heard I had breast cancer, they would stop making excuses, pick up the phone, and call their doctor to schedule their appointment. I knew for a fact that women’s lives would be saved.”

So just six weeks after broadcasting her first mammogram live from Times Square, Amy revealed her breast cancer diagnosis to the viewers of Good Morning America. Though she did it to help other women, Amy says she feels like she got more in return than what she gave. 

“Sharing my journey helped me get through those horrible months of treatment,” Amy says. “I felt the collective love and support of all the other women out there who were struggling with the same thing I was. I felt like I had a whole new set of friends and sisters. And it had a huge impact on my recovery.”

The Grueling Treatments  

To rid her body of cancer, Amy opted for a double mastectomy followed by reconstruction. During surgery, her doctors discovered a malignant tumor in her left breast that hadn’t shown up on her prior mammograms. They also found that her cancer had spread to her sentinel lymph node. It was stage II. Now she would need to undergo eight rounds of intense targeted chemotherapy – complete with side effects like fatigue, nausea, and chemo brain – plus a decade-long course of Tamoxifen, of which she’s currently in her second year. 

“There’s nothing like turning 40 and then taking a pill and feeling 55,” Amy jokes. “I’m in a constant state of menopause. I have hot flashes and night sweats. [Tamoxifen] basically robs my body of estrogen, because that’s what fuels my cancer. The hope is that by taking this for the next nine years, I give myself the best chance of staving off recurrence.”

On Getting Back to Normal  

“The cancer journey doesn’t end the day of your last treatment,” Amy shares. “It stays with you forever, and you figure out how to fight through it each day and live a better life.”

However, two years later, it appears Amy has settled in to her new normal, cohosting Good Morning America and publishing a memoir, though she never really stopped working. She has also made it her mission to speak out about early detection.

She admits, though, that the one thing she hasn’t completely overcome yet is the fear cancer imposes. “I’m working on it,” she says. “But sometimes fear washes over you when you least expect it. I was on a ferry recently, and I saw some grandparents with their grandchildren. All of a sudden, this dark thought entered my head: Will I ever get to be old? Will I ever get to hold my grandchildren? 

“Even now I get emotional thinking about it. But I’ve decided that when those moments happen, I’ve just got to cry it out a little bit. Then I can smile and say to myself, But I’m here right now. I’m more aware of how precious time is and how lucky I am to be here. So I’ve been fighting through my fear by using it to remind myself that right now I have everything I need.”

Read Amy Robach’s memoir, Better: How I Let Go of Control, Held On to Hope, and Found Joy in My Darkest Hour, detailing her breast cancer journey and how her illness affected her family and her marriage.

This article was published in Coping® with Cancer magazine, September/October 2015.

Amy Robach Cancer Survivor & Good Morning America Host – Coping

Amy Robach’s breast cancer story became widely known because her cancer was discovered after she underwent her first mammogram live on television while co-hosting Good Morning America during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 2013. The screening, which she initially agreed to do as a public-awareness segment, ultimately detected a cancer she did not know she had. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com]

Diagnosis

At age 40, Robach received a diagnosis of stage 2 invasive breast cancer several weeks after the televised mammogram. She has said she was shocked because she had no family history of breast cancer and did not believe she was at significant risk. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com], [shemdpodcast.com]

Treatment

Following the diagnosis, she underwent:

• A double mastectomy (removal of both breasts)
• Eight rounds of chemotherapy
• Breast reconstruction surgery
• Long-term treatment with tamoxifen, a medication used to reduce the risk of recurrence. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com]

During surgery, doctors reportedly discovered an additional tumor and cancer involvement in a lymph node, reinforcing the seriousness of the disease. [wellrz.com]

The Psychological Journey

Robach has spoken openly about how surviving cancer was not the end of the struggle. She described:

• Fear of recurrence
• Lingering physical weakness after treatment
• Memory difficulties and cognitive changes during chemotherapy
• The emotional challenge of adjusting to life after treatment ended. [goodmornin…merica.com], [thehealthy.com]

One of her recurring messages is that“cancer never leaves you” emotionally, even when treatment is finished and scans show no evidence of disease. Survivorship often brings its own anxieties and uncertainties. [goodmornin…merica.com], [thehealthy.com]

Advocacy and Message

The central lesson Robach draws from her experience is the importance of early detection through mammography. She frequently emphasizes that breast cancer can occur even in women without a family history and that screening may find cancers long before symptoms appear. She has credited that on-air mammogram with potentially saving her life. [people.com], [shemdpodcast.com]

A Symbolic Perspective

Viewed symbolically, Robach’s story carries a striking theme: she agreed to the mammogram believing she was helping other women, only to discover that the act of public service became an act of self-rescue. The broadcast that was intended as awareness became a threshold moment, transforming her from journalist to survivor and later to advocate. Her journey illustrates a recurring survivor narrative: an ordinary obligation unexpectedly becomes the event that changes a life. [people.com], [shemdpodcast.com]

After undergoing a live mammogram on Good Morning America on October 1, 2013, Amy Robach received the unexpected diagnosis of Stage 2 invasive breast cancer later that month at age 40, despite having no family history of the disease. She underwent a double mastectomy in November 2013, during which doctors discovered an additional tumor and cancer in a lymph node, followed by eight rounds of chemotherapy and multiple breast reconstruction surgeries.

After completing active treatment, she began long-term therapy with tamoxifen to help reduce the risk of recurrence. In the years since, Robach has become a leading advocate for breast cancer awareness, frequently sharing how the mammogram she agreed to do for public education ultimately helped save her own life and highlighting the emotional challenges that continue long after treatment ends. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com], [shemdpodcast.com], [wellrz.com]

When Amy Robach underwent a live mammogram on Good Morning America in 2013, she expected to raise awareness for other women, not discover she had Stage 2 breast cancer. After her diagnosis, she underwent a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and breast reconstruction. Since then, she has shared her story to encourage early detection and to support others facing breast cancer, turning a deeply personal challenge into a message of hope and resilience. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com], [shemdpodcast.com]

Timeline of Amy Robach’s Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Date / Period	Event
October 1, 2013	While co-hosting Good Morning America, Amy Robach underwent her first mammogram live on television as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She later said she believed she was doing it to encourage other women to get screened. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com]
October	The screening showed suspicious findings. Additional imaging and a biopsy were performed. [shemdpodcast.com]
October 30, 201	Amy Robach received the diagnosis of Stage 2 invasive breast cancer. She was 40 years old and had no known family history of breast cancer. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com]
November 2013	She underwent a double mastectomy. During surgery, physicians discovered an additional tumor and found cancer involvement in a lymph node, indicating the disease was more extensive than initially known. [wellrz.com]
Late 2013 to 2014	She completed eight rounds of chemotherapy to treat the cancer and reduce the risk of recurrence. She later described this period as physically and emotionally grueling. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com]
2014	She underwent a series of breast reconstruction procedures following the mastectomy. Reports describe reconstruction as a multi-stage process rather than a single surgery. [wellrz.com]
After Active	She began taking tamoxifen, a hormone-blocking medication used to lower the risk of breast cancer recurrence. She has spoken publicly about side effects associated with long-term treatment. [goodmornin…merica.com]
2014-Present	As a survivor, Amy Robach has become a prominent advocate for breast cancer screening and awareness, emphasizing that many women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. She has also spoken openly about survivorship, fear of recurrence, and the long-term emotional impact of cancer. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com], [thehealthy.com], [shemdpodcast.com]

The Emotional Arc

For someone who never expected to be a cancer patient, the journey unfolded in a remarkably compressed sequence:

Routine awareness campaign → Unexpected mammogram → Cancer diagnosis → Double mastectomy → Chemotherapy → Reconstruction → Long-term survivorship. [goodmornin…merica.com], [people.com]

One of the most consequential moments came during surgery, when doctors discovered additional disease that had not been fully apparent beforehand. This reinforced Amy Robach’s later conviction that the mammogram likely detected the cancer early enough to significantly affect her outcome. [wellrz.com], [shemdpodcast.com]

If you’d like, I can also compare Amy Robach’s experience with those of other public breast cancer survivors such as Robin Roberts, Christina Applegate, or Sheryl Crow. From a survivorship perspective, Robach frequently describes the story not as ending with successful treatment, but as evolving into a lifelong process of monitoring, adaptation, and advocacy. [goodmornin…merica.com], [thehealthy.com]

Why an 84-year-old chose to live alone at 7,000 feet and never leave | Watch

Cameron Mathison, Actor and Host, Talks about His Kidney Cancer

4 Non Blondes include Roger Rocha, Christa Hillhouse, Linda Perry and Dawn Richardson. © Getty Images

Linda Perry’s journey through grief and creativity

Linda Perry, best known as the frontwoman of 4 Non Blondes and a celebrated songwriter, has spoken openly about her breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and the personal transformation that followed.

Diagnosis and cancer type
Perry said she felt healthy when, during a planned breast reduction surgery, doctors discovered triple-negative breast cancer in her biopsy Fox News. 

She described it as a “very, very fast” and “angry” cancer, and noted she had never had mammograms, which she said she avoided due to discomfort with the medical process Fox News. 

The doctor offered two options — chemotherapy and radiation, or a double mastectomy — and Perry chose the latter without hesitation Fox News.

Treatment and surgery
She underwent a double mastectomy in January 2022 Fox News. Perry has said she “knew” the cancer “wasn’t going to take me down” People, but the experience was still intense.

Personal and emotional impact
While recovering, Perry’s elderly mother, who had dementia and a history of emotional, mental, and physical abuse toward her, became gravely ill and died four months later britpanorama.co.uk+1. Perry described this as a “meltdown” — a period of grief, identity crisis, and loss of her “villain” and “muse” People+1. She said losing her mother left her questioning who she was without that long-standing dynamic, and she has said her mother’s “best gift” was a peaceful death The Guardian.

Artistic response
These experiences inspired Perry’s 2026 solo album and documentary, Let It Die Here,   Reel To Reel: Linda Perry: Let It Die Here    Bing Videos  her first solo record in 27 years People+1. The project, filmed by friend Don Hardy, captures her vulnerability, grief, and resilience, and Perry has said it’s “so honest and real” and “about way more than just me” britpanorama.co.uk. She hopes the record will be relatable and “touch a few people” People.   

Current outlook
Perry has said she is “really happy” she can handle what comes and grateful for the support she receives People. She continues to work as a songwriter and performer, and her journey has become a blend of survival, healing, and creative rebirth.

In short, Linda Perry’s cancer journey was marked by a surprise diagnosis, decisive treatment, profound personal loss, and a deep artistic transformation — and she has shared it openly to inspire and connect with others.

Linda Perry: Let It Die Here – Tribeca Documentary Film (2024) FULL HD

   Linda Perry Bio 1 of 4

Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes had a double mastectomy in 2022. © Getty Images

Linda Perry was five months into filming a documentary when her life was thrown into turmoil. She hadn’t exactly planned to make a film about herself: the frontwoman of 4 Non Blondes and hugely successful songwriter to the stars had merely agreed to let her friend record some studio footage for social media content. “He just said, ‘Can I come and film you and your process of songwriting?’” Perry says. “But then things started happening,” reports BritPanorama.

The documentary,  Linda Perry: Let It Die Here — KTF Films   became a raw, unfiltered account of grief, survival, and resolution, blending her cancer journey, her mother’s death, and the lingering trauma of her childhood abuse iNews.co.uk+1. Perry has said the film is “about way more than just me” and that she would never have allowed a vanity‑driven portrait of herself iNews.co.uk+1.

The project also coincided with her first solo album in 27 years, Let It Die Here, whose songs frame her mother as “the villain and the muse” bedrocknews.com. The film and album together mark a deliberate re‑emergence for Perry, who had largely retreated from the public eye after 4 Non Blondes’ 1992 hit Bigger, Better, Faster, More! iNews.co.uk+1.

Perry has said the experience was both “terrible” and “beautiful,” noting that her mother’s peaceful death was “the best gift” she gave her The Guardian+1. The documentary’s most striking moments — such as Perry breaking down in her closet while filming — capture the unfiltered emotional truth of her journey bedrocknews.com.  In short, what began as a casual studio recording session evolved into a powerful, confessional work born from illness, loss, and the confrontation with her own identity.

Towards the end of 2022, Perry was diagnosed with breast cancer. Shortly afterwards, her mother, who had dementia, became gravely ill and died four months later, just as Perry was recovering from a double mastectomy. “And then my meltdown,” Perry adds, referencing an all-consuming artistic and personal identity crisis. “It was a crazy year.” The friend who was filming – Don Hardy, a producer – “saw a clear documentary where I was lost and in my own spin out.”

The situation was made even more fraught given Perry’s family history. Her mum had abused her as a child, which Perry describes as “fully traumatic and dramatic and abusive emotionally, mentally, physically.” Inadvertently, Hardy’s film, Let It Die Here – which has inspired Perry’s solo album of the same name, her first in 27 years – became a moving, raw, unfiltered document of grief, suffering, survival, and resolution. “If the documentary was about me and my vanity and how amazing I am, I would never have let that happen,” she says. “But it’s about way more than just me. It’s so honest and real.”

Linda Perry is seen on stage in 1990. Getty Images© Getty Images

Perry, on video call from LA, is one of America’s great songwriters. 4 Non Blondes only released one album at the height of America’s alt-rock explosion – 1992’s Bigger, Better, Faster, More! – but it had huge influence. With feminist and queer empowerment to the fore, the album sold seven million copies, spawning the MTV mega anthem “What’s Up?” and made Perry an icon.

Not that she makes a virtue of identity. “Let me just make this as clear, or queer, as possible. Me being gay has nothing to do with anything. But if you want to go there, I’m a single mum, gay Latino woman.” She laughs. “I mean, I got a lot of stuff on me right there.”

Perry says “What’s Up?” will never be beaten in terms of its impact. “Have I written songs that I feel are better? Yeah, of course. But it doesn’t mean it’s going to be received better.” Yet her run of hits in the noughties, where she became the go-to songwriter for pop stars seeking an alternative edge, ran it close: “Get the Party Started” by Pink, Gwen Stefani’s “What You Waiting For?” and Aguilera’s ballad “Beautiful.” There’ve been Grammy nominations and in 2015 an induction to the Songwriters Hall of Fame; and this week Perry received the Special International Award at the Ivor Novello Awards.

It’s not just her musical abilities that make her such a respected figure: Perry is admired for her no-nonsense independent spirit. “I mean, I’m a badass. I’m powerful. I know that. My mom was very, very tough. So I’m tough.” When I say lots of women in the music industry can often feel undermined and undervalued, Perry dismisses the notion. “I consider that a weak way to look at things. I’m not undermined, and I’m not undervalued at all. I’m actually afraid. Men are very intimidated by me when I walk into a room. My energy enters a room way before I do.”

Which is precisely what makes seeing her in such distress in the documentary all the more moving. Vulnerability is there in Perry’s songs – “honestly, most of my power comes from me being insecure and vulnerable” – but she says at times the documentary was difficult for her to watch. She is shown in her studio post-surgery, and, at the end, in tears after she performed “What Lies With You”, an anthemic song about her mum: she wrote the music the night before filming, and the lyrics that morning (“I’m holding on cos I just can’t say goodbye/I saw heaven in her eyes”). “It’s so powerful to me what happened in that room in such a short period of time.”

One distressing scene sees Perry go to film herself on her laptop to promote her EqualizeHER project (to help women access careers in music). But then a Supertramp song comes on through the speakers, the childhood memory sparking a breakdown: Perry continues to dance while in floods of tears, talking inaudibly. “I don’t know what happened. All I know is that I had some sort of meltdown.” She sent the video to Hardy immediately, who had asked Perry to also shoot footage for the film. “When I saw that on the big screen, I almost went into shock. It was a blackout of emotions, and seeing that scene was so embarrassing and so ridiculously honest and vulnerable.”

In another scene, the question of her purpose in life – as both a woman and artist – completely overwhelms her. She tells me that years of absorbing other artists’ personalities, feelings, ways of working – “if you’re wearing a jean and T-shirt, I put on your jean and T-shirt” is how she puts it – has adjusted her sense of self. “I’m a workaholic. And my mind is spinning. My heart is spinning. Everything’s spinning. Within that you get buried in all this other stuff that it gets hard to find out – where are you in this picture?”

The backdrop to this is childhood trauma. When she was growing up in San Diego – before she found an escape through music, via going to live with her older brother – Perry tried to kill herself with tranquilisers at 16. When the doctor told her mum and recommended treatment, she ignored the advice and did nothing.

Linda Perry’s Inner Conflict in Let It Die Here

Linda Perry’s Inner Conflict in Let It Die Here Perry’s on‑screen demeanor often reflects a deep tension between condemning the harm she endured and yearning for the validation she never received from her mother.

The documentary was conceived when producer Don Hardy began filming Perry’s songwriting process, but the project evolved into an unfiltered account of her life amid breast cancer, a double mastectomy, and the death of her mother, who had dementia and had physically and emotionally abused her as a child britpanorama.co.uk+2. Perry has described her mother’s upbringing as “fully traumatic and dramatic and abusive emotionally, mentally, physically” britpanorama.co.uk.

This history shapes the film’s emotional core. Perry alternates between denouncing her mother’s actions — calling them “hurt” and “damage” — and seeking a form of reconciliation or understanding that never came The Guardian. She has said she learned from her mother that “to show feelings was weak,” yet she herself is defined by emotional honesty and vulnerability The Guardian+1.

In the film, Perry’s “torn” moments appear in candid scenes where she is visibly struggling, breaking down, or questioning her own worth, while also expressing a desire to be seen and understood. She has explained that she “needed truth in my life” as a child and that she would “give that” to others, but she also resisted the urge to let the camera capture her most vulnerable moments American Songwriter.

This duality — rejecting the abuse while still longing for maternal approval — is central to the documentary’s emotional weight. Perry has said the film is “about way more than just me” and that it is “so honest and real” because it shows her “lost and in my own spin out” britpanorama.co.uk+1. The tension between condemnation and longing mirrors her broader life narrative: surviving trauma, confronting her own identity, and seeking the validation that, despite her resilience, she never received from her mother britpanorama.co.uk+1.

In short, Perry’s “torn” presence in the film is a direct reflection of her ongoing struggle to reconcile the love she craved with the harm she endured, making the documentary both a personal reckoning and a universal portrait of grief, survival, and the search for acceptance.

‘Linda Perry: Let It Die Here’ Review: An Immeasurably Moving Documentary

Throughout the documentary, Perry seemed torn between denouncing such actions and seeking validation from her mother that had never come. “Yeah,” she agrees, “and I think that would be one of the things that I hope people can relate to. That relationship with your parents is very complex. My mum being a hard woman wasn’t really her fault. Her parents were hard on her. I mean, I couldn’t give a f**k about my dad. I loved him and whatever, but his mistakes were his, and I was invisible to him. But my mum, I admired. She’s so powerful and strong, and what a survivor. And I wouldn’t trade any of that hard living for anything. I would take the beatings all again to end up where I am today.”

She says her mum’s death doesn’t change her perspective at all. “She did all those things, you know? So it doesn’t take it away just because someone dies. I still feel the bruises from that.” But there was a happier ending. Perry was able to bond with her mum over the last four months of her life; she lived in Perry’s house, and they slept in beds next to each other as she acted as her carer. It was, says Perry, “the most incredibly beautiful thing that could have ever happened. I got closure. So many people don’t get that. This is a hard thing to say, but my mother dying was the best gift she ever gave me. Because I’m free.”

But that freedom brings its own issues, she says. “Who am I without the villain in this picture? Who am I without someone to fight? Who am I without someone to blame? Who am I? I’m battling myself now. But it’s definitely way lighter, I’ll tell you that.”

The album Let It Die Here tries to answer all those questions across 17 tracks. Like the documentary, it is a powerful, at times uncomfortable listen. She describes it as “long, dark and depressing, and so thoughtful and emotional.” It is designed to lay the ghosts of the past to rest. “The goal of the album is to let it die here, let all that shit go so you can move forward.”

It holds all of Perry’s conflicted emotions, sometimes, as on “Is That All You Got” and “I Am Daughter”, within the same song. “It’s as if this record is a split personality and they’re all just showing up without my acknowledgement.” With “Feathers on a Storm”, she is taking responsibility for her future happiness. “We need to stop trying to make other people change, and we have to find the change within ourselves.”

A Perry solo album has been a long time coming. Why? “Because I’m scared,” she says, which is a surprising answer. “I’m a sensitive person. I’m a big contradiction.” She says it’s been fun, but she’s been using the artists she’s worked with.

Related Link:

• FORMER ‘DWTS’ HOST SAMANTHA HARRIS SURVIVED BREAST CANCER TWICE AFTER DOCTORS DISMISSED HER SYMPTOMS
• Celebrities who have had breast cancer – National Breast Cancer Foundation
• How many celebrities had breast cancer – Search Videos
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• 23 Celebs Who Have Survived a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
• These Celebrities Have All Battled Cancer and Won
• Celebrities Who Have Had Breast Cancer
• Celebrities Who’ve Had Breast Cancer

Linda Perry felt “healthy” at the time of her breast cancer diagnosis.  © Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver

Linda Perry says she was feeling healthy when doctors discovered angry cancer by chance

Story by Janelle Ash

Oct 23 • 2 min read

Linda Perry cancer journey – Search

Musician Linda Perry was feeling healthy when doctors discovered her body was plagued with an “angry” cancer.

On a recent episode of the “Off The Record” podcast with Lisa Konicki, Perry said “guardian angels” were the ones that brought her breast cancer diagnosis to the surface.

“That was just angels, you know, guardians, because I never do any of that stuff – mammograms. Nothing. No, I’m not going down that way. And if that’s where I go, then take me down. But I can’t stand the medical … I’m not a fan. I don’t buy it,” Perry began.

The 4 Non Blondes singer went on to explain that she considered herself “healthy” at the time of her diagnosis, noting that she doesn’t smoke, drink alcohol or ingest caffeine.

Perry also explained that she wanted a breast reduction “for years,” but never booked the surgery because she is afraid of being under anesthesia. Eventually, she decided it was time and arranged for the procedure.

“So, I’ll go do the appointment,” she began. “We go to the recovery, you know, I stay at this place overnight. Totally, everything was fine. And then the doctor comes by and she’s like, ‘Everything went great, you know, but … you have triple negative cancer, and we found it in your biopsy. It’s very early, but it’s there.'”

4 Non Blondes Singer Linda Perry Documentary – Barrett Media

Perry said that the doctor told her that the cancer she had was a “very, very fast” and “angry” cancer.

She said that the doctor laid out her options – begin radiation and chemotherapy or do a double mastectomy.

“I was like, ‘No brainer. I’m halfway there. Take them.’ I didn’t even think about it. I was just like, ‘Pop them off. I’m good. When can we go?'” Perry said on the podcast.

Perry had her double mastectomy in January 2022 and since then, she’s been healthy.

On the podcast, Perry talked about her mother, Marluce Martins Perry, who was sick at the time of her diagnosis and surgery. She told Konicki that she would never have thought her symptoms were due to a serious illness and would have assumed they were caused by the stress from her mother’s condition.

Therefore, she would never have gotten her breasts checked.

“So, angels, angels all around me. My whole life,” she said of how she was able to catch her cancer so early. 

Original article source: Linda Perry says she was feeling healthy when doctors discovered ‘angry’ cancer by chance

Linda Perry says she was feeling healthy when doctors discovered angry cancer by chance

Linda Perry — The SoCal Sound Session | Live Performance & Interview with Nic Harcourt

4 Non Blondes – Greatest Hits (Full Album, Super Collection/All Songs) – YouTube

Linda Perry: The Loss of Her Mother, A Cancer Diagnosis, and Let It Die Here

4 Non Blondes – “What’s Up” [2026 Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve]  

Her signature greeting to her audience was an elongated “Howdy!

I’m just so proud to be here!” delivered in a hearty holler. After she became an established star, her greeting became a call-and-response. Facing the Laughter: Minnie Pearl | PBS https://share.google/tJTMrRelOghTjFVWv

Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon a.k.a. Minnie Pearl (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996),  The country comedy legend appeared on the Grand Ole Opry for over 50 years and on Hee Haw for more than two decades, leaving a lasting mark on American humor and country music. Known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, with that $1.98 price tag dangling from her hat. Was an American comedian and country singer who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991.^[1][2]

Biography

Early life

Sarah Ophelia Colley was born in Centerville in Hickman County, Tennessee, 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Nashville. She was the youngest of five daughters born to a prosperous sawmill owner and timber dealer in Centerville.^[3]

She graduated from Ward-Belmont College (later Belmont University), at the time Nashville’s most prestigious school for young ladies, where she majored in theater studies and dance. She taught dance for the first few years after graduating.^[4]

Professional career

Her first professional theatrical work was with the Wayne P. Sewell Production Company, a touring theater company based in Atlanta. She produced and directed plays and musicals for local organizations in small towns throughout the Southeast.^[3][4]

Part of her work involved making brief appearances at civic organizations to promote the group’s shows, and during this time she developed her Minnie Pearl routine.^[4] While producing an amateur musical comedy in Baileyton, Alabama she met a mountain woman whose style and speech became the basis for “Cousin Minnie Pearl”.^[3] Her first stage performance as Minnie Pearl was in 1939 in Aiken, South Carolina.^[3] Her character’s now-famous trademark hat was purchased downtown at Surasky Bros. Department Store before the show. The following year, executives from Nashville radio station WSM saw her perform at a bankers’ convention in Centerville and gave her an opportunity to appear on the Grand Ole Opry on November 30, 1940.^[3][4] The success of her debut on the show began an association with the Grand Ole Opry that continued for more than 50 years.^[5]

Pearl’s comedy was a gentle satire of rural Southern culture, often called “hillbilly” culture. She lived in the fictional town of Grinders Switch. Pearl always dressed in frilly “down home” dresses and wore a hat with a price tag hanging from it, displaying the $1.98 price. Her signature greeting to her audience was an elongated “Howdy! I’m just so proud to be here!” delivered in a hearty holler.^[6] After she became an established star, her greeting became a call-and-response with audiences everywhere. Pearl’s often self-deprecating humor involved her unsuccessful attempts to attract “a feller’s” attention and, in later years, her age. 

She also spun stories involving her comical “ne’er-do-well” relatives, notably “Uncle Nabob”, his wife “Aunt Ambrosia”, “Lucifer Hucklehead”, “Miss Lizzie Tinkum”, “Doc Payne”, and, of course, her “Brother”, who was simultaneously both slow-witted and wise. She usually closed her monologues with the exit line, “I love you so much it hurts!” She also sang comic novelty songs and often danced with Grandpa Jones.

In 1956, she made a paid appearance – $3,000, plus expenses – at the kickoff event of the first Alabama gubernatorial candidacy of segregationist George Wallace. She also appeared at an event kicking off his 1962 candidacy for governor.

Hat on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Pearl drew much of her comic material from her hometown of Centerville, which she called Grinders Switch. Grinders Switch was a community just outside Centerville that consisted of little more than a railroad switch. Those who knew her recognized that the characters were largely based on actual Centerville residents. So much traffic resulted from fans and tourists looking for Grinders Switch that the Hickman County Highway Department eventually changed the designation on the “Grinders Switch” road sign to “Hickman Springs Road”.

Cannon portrayed Minnie Pearl for many years on television, first on ABC‘s Ozark Jubilee in the late 1950s; then on the long-running television series Hee Haw, both on CBS and the subsequent syndicated version. She made several appearances on NBC‘s The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.  Minnie Pearl Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975 – Search  

She also appeared as a celebrity panelist on game shows such as Match Game in 1977 and 1978, and Hollywood Squares in 1980. Her last regular performances on national television were on Ralph Emery‘s Nashville Now country-music talk show on the former The Nashville Network (TNN) cable channel.

With Emery, she performed in a weekly feature “Let Minnie Steal Your Joke” in the Minnie Pearl character, and read jokes submitted by viewers, with prizes for the best jokes.^[3] Cannon made a cameo appearance in the film Coal Miner’s Daughter, appearing at the Opry as Minnie Pearl.

Family life

A life-sized statue of Minnie Pearl sits on a pew alongside a statue of Roy Acuff in the lobby of Ryman Auditorium.

On February 23, 1947, Colley married Henry R. Cannon, who had been an Army Air Corps fighter pilot during World War II and was then a partner in an air charter service. After the wedding, Cannon set up his own air charter service for country music performers and took over management of the Minnie Pearl character.^[3][5] 

His clients in the charter service included Eddy Arnold, Colonel Tom Parker, Hank Williams, Carl Smith, Webb Pierce, and Elvis Presley.^[3] The couple had no children.^[5]

In 1969, they purchased a large estate home in Nashville next door to the Tennessee Governor’s Mansion.^[7] Cannon attended Brentwood Methodist Church, just to the south of Nashville, where she also donated the pipe organ.^[8]

Chicken restaurants

See also: List of fast-food chicken restaurants

In the late 1960s, Nashville entrepreneur John Jay Hooker persuaded Cannon and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson to lend their names to a chain of fried chicken restaurants established to compete with Kentucky Fried Chicken. The chain was known as Minnie Pearl’s Fried Chicken. 

After initially reporting good results and enjoying a public stock worth $64 million, the venture collapsed amid allegations of irregularities and stock price manipulation. The ensuing investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cleared both Cannon and Jackson of involvement in financial wrongdoings, but both were embarrassed by the negative publicity.

Minnie Pearl | iHeart

SUMMARY

Sarah Colley studied dramatics in Belmont College in Nashville, intending to be a serious actress, but while touring with an Atlanta company, she created the Minnie Pearl character that became her life’s work. Her first Grand Ole Opry appearance was on the radio show in 1940, followed by 27 years of touring. Minnie Pearl Fought Cancer In Secret For Years, and recovered after a double mastectomy.

• This is Your Life: Minnie Pearl (1957), Remastered by SabuCat
• First country music performer to be surprised with the presentation of her life story on the 1950s series “This Is Your Life”. Though stunned by the surprise, Minnie Pearl knew this was her big chance on network television and milked her appearance for all the comedy she could muster, leading to a highly-active career as a guest performer on scores of non-country variety programs and talk shows.
• The costume she wore on stage (red and white checkered dress, straw hat with price tag still on it, etc.) was based on clothes she herself had picked out from a thrift store.

Cancer research

After battling breast cancer through aggressive treatments, including a double mastectomy and radiation therapy, she became a spokeswoman for the medical center in Nashville where she had been treated. She took on this role as herself, Sarah Ophelia Cannon, not Minnie Pearl, although a nonprofit group, the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation, was founded in her memory to help fund cancer research. 

The center where she was treated was later named the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, and has been expanded to at least twenty other hospitals in Middle Tennessee; southern Kentucky; Richmond, Virginia; Kansas City, Missouri; Gainesville, Florida; Plano, Texas; and the United Kingdom. Her name has also been lent to the affiliated Sarah Cannon Research Institute.^[9][10]

The Life And Tragic Ending Of Minnie Pearl

Cannon suffered a debilitating stroke in June 1991,^[3] bringing her performing career to an end. After the stroke, she resided in a Nashville nursing home, where she received frequent visits from music industry figures, including Chely Wright, Vince Gill, and Amy Grant. Her death on March 4, 1996, at the age of 83 was attributed to complications from another stroke.^[11][12][13]

 In this video, The Grave of Minnie Pearl at Mount Hope Cemetery in Franklin, Tennessee. Petro pays a visit to the final resting place of the iconic country legend, Minnie Pearl, in Franklin, Tennessee. Follow along as Petro reflects on the legacy of one of country music’s most beloved figures and pays his respects to a true pioneer.

Davina McCall’s Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis After Brain Tumour and Breast Cancer

Television presenter Davina McCall has revealed she has cardiovascular disease (CVD)

Davina McCall, 59, has revealed she has been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (CVD) — a group of conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels — following her 2024 brain tumor surgery and 2025 breast cancer treatment,

How she shared the news

McCall announced the diagnosis on her Begin Again podcast, speaking with heart attack survivor Louise McGill to stress the importance of women’s cardiovascular health.

She said:

“I wanted to let you know, I also have cardiovascular disease, and this is a very important conversation to have” .

She noted that she had long-term high cholesterol, which was previously thought to be offset by her “good” cholesterol, but now she has a confirmed CVD diagnosis Yahoo News Singapore+1.

Health journey

• 2024: Underwent surgery to remove a rare 14 mm benign brain tumour (colloid cyst) Yahoo News UK.
• 2025: Diagnosed with breast cancer; received a lumpectomy in October and five days of radiotherapy Yahoo News UK.
• April 2025: Received the “all clear” from breast cancer Oxford Mail.
• October 2026: Revealed CVD diagnosis Yahoo News Singapore+1.

McCall described feeling more vulnerable after her cancer experience and urged women, especially post‑menopausal, not to “brush things off” when symptoms appear AOL+1.

What is cardiovascular disease?

According to the NHS, CVD covers conditions like coronary heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, aortic disease, and strokes. It is often caused by fatty build‑up in the arteries, restricting blood flow Yahoo News Singapore+1.

Risk factors include smoking, excess alcohol, obesity, inactivity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and certain ethnic backgrounds Yahoo News Singapore.

Symptoms and advice

Common signs include chest pain, pressure, shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue, and in women, more subtle symptoms. McCall and the British Heart Foundation are urging regular health checks, monitoring blood pressure and cholesterol, and staying proactive about heart health www.newsminimalist.com.

Key takeaway

McCall’s disclosure highlights that heart disease is a major risk for women after menopause and that awareness, early detection, and lifestyle management are vital AOL+1.

She has partnered with the British Heart Foundation to promote these messages www.newsminimalist.com.

Davina McCall has a body many of us would still kill to have – here, we explore her workout regime and what she eats. – Search

If you have symptoms or risk factors, seek medical advice promptly — and don’t ignore them.  Davina McCall Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis After Brain Tumour and Breast Cancer Battles! – Search Videos

Davina McCall’s Workout & Diet Secrets

Davina McCall’s current fitness and nutrition plan blends short, focused strength sessions, daily movement, and balanced, whole‑food meals — with a focus on muscle maintenance and enjoyment rather than extreme restriction.

Workout Routine

Davina, now 58, has shifted from her younger‑years HIIT and long cardio sessions to strength‑first training Cosmopolitan.

Her current approach:

• 30 minutes running (often a brisk walk or jog) followed by 20 minutes of strength work Cosmopolitan.
• Strength training focuses on form over rep count — she avoids high‑repetition HIIT to prevent sacrificing technique Cosmopolitan.
• Post‑2024 brain surgery, she rebuilt muscle slowly: daily walks, then 15‑minute gym sessions, gradually increasing intensity Cosmopolitan+1.
• She uses her Own Your Goals platform for structured, under‑30‑minute workouts, mixing functional fitness, light cardio, and resistance training Women’s Health.
• Daily movement includes walking her dog Bo and occasional boxing sessions with her trainer Women’s Health+1.

Key tips:

• Start in sportswear to prime your mind for exercise Yahoo Life UK.
• Keep sessions short and manageable to avoid stress hormone spikes Women’s Health.
• Prioritise technique, not just numbers.

Diet & Nutrition

Davina’s diet is balanced, flexible, and not overly restrictive HELLO!:

• Breakfast: Tea with collagen powder, granola and milk, or occasionally a crumpet (1.5–2).
• Lunch: Main meal of the day — pasta, courgetti, eggs, or fish with vegetables and carbs; she loves Philadelphia Light cream cheese as a sauce.
• General approach: No strict sugar ban — she avoids refined sugar when possible but allows occasional treats.
• She emphasises whole foods, variety, and cooking at home for family meals.

Key tips:

• Eat after workouts when possible.
• Use lighter versions of favorite condiments for flavor without excess calories.
• Stay flexible — if you’ve indulged, return to your usual plan the next day HELLO!.

Takeaway

Davina’s “body many of us would kill to have” comes from consistent, enjoyable movement and nutritious, balanced eating — adapted to her age, health, and lifestyle. You don’t need to copy her exactly, but you can borrow her focus on strength, form, daily activity, and whole‑food meals to support your own health and fitness Cosmopolitan+2.

33 things we know about Davina McCall’s workout routine

Davina McCall Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis After Brain Tumour and Breast Cancer Battles! – Search Videos

Television presenter Davina McCall has revealed she has cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a health update following her battles with breast cancer and a brain tumour.

The former Big Brother presenter has faced a number of health setbacks in recent years; in 2024, she received brain surgery to remove a rare 14mm benign tumour, shortly after which she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I wanted to let you know, I also have cardiovascular disease, and this is a very important conversation to have,” she said on her podcast, Begin Again.

The 59-year-old spoke with heart attack survivor Louise McGill to highlight the vital importance of women’s cardiovascular health.

But what actually is cardiovascular disease (CVD)? Here, The Independent takes a look at the conditions’ main symptoms and risk factors.

What is cardiovascular disease (CVD)?

According to the NHS, CVD refers to the “group of conditions that affect your heart and blood vessels”.

It notes there are different types of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), aortic disease and strokes.

There are different types of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (Getty/iStock)

The NHS says CVD is often caused by a build-up of fat in the arteries, making it hard for blood to flow through the body. It can be prevented through a healthy lifestyle or medication if required.

Who is most at risk?

Different lifestyle and biological factors can lead to an increased risk of CVD, according to the NHS.

For example, those who smoke, consume excessive amounts of alcohol, are overweight or not active may be more likely to get CVD.

The condition also “mainly affects people over 50 years old”, while “men are more likely to get CVD than women” and “you may be more likely to get CVD if you’re from a South Asian, Black African or African Caribbean ethnic background”.

‘Men are more likely to get CVD than women,’ according to the NHS (Getty/iStock)

Meanwhile, those who have relatives diagnosed with CVD could face a heightened risk, alongside patients with conditions like high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

What are the main symptoms of cardiovascular disease?

The NHS says the “symptoms of cardiovascular disease (CVD) will depend on the condition you have”, while patients might not experience any symptoms for “some conditions”.

It notes that the first signs of CVD for some may include chest pain, stroke or a heart attack.

Specifically, for coronary heart disease (CHD), patients may experience symptoms such as angina (chest pain) alongside feelings of faintness or nausea.

Symptoms of coronary heart disease (CHD)

NHS

The main symptoms of coronary heart disease are:

• Chest pain (angina)
• Shortness of breath
• Pain in your neck, shoulders, jaw or arms
• Feeling faint
• Feeling sick (nausea)

What can I do to help prevent CVD?

According to the NHS, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death in Britain.

Those with an elevated chance of CVD might be told to take statins, which help to lower cholesterol levels in the blood.

However, the NHS says there are also a number of “lifestyle changes” that could help lower the risk of CVD, or prevent it from worsening.

These include having a balanced diet, minimising the consumption of fatty foods, participating in regular exercise, maintaining a health weight, quitting smoking and reducing alcohol intake.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

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Billy Crystal shot at the Imperial Theater in NYC on Sept. 28, 2026. CreditMartin Schoeller

Billy Crystal Found One Key Thing After His Home Burned Down in the L.A. Fires: ‘That’s What’s Gotten Me Through Tough Times’ (Exclusive)

The actor opens up to PEOPLE ahead of the Oct. 21 opening of his new one-man Broadway show, ‘860’

By Liz McNeil

Updated on October 14, 2026 08:02AM EDT

NEED TO KNOW

• Billy Crystal opens up to PEOPLE in this week’s cover story after losing his home in the 2025 Los Angeles fires
• Crystal’s solo show 860 opens Oct. 21 and uses comedy to process the fire and recent losses
• The actor says he and his wife Janice plan to rebuild the Pacific Palisades home where they raised their two daughters

One week after the January 2025 wildfires in the Pacific Palisades destroyed his family home, Billy Crystal returned to his neighborhood.

Where once stood the 1930s ranch house that he and his wife, Janice, 77, had bought in 1979 to raise their daughters Jenny, now 53, and Lindsay, 48, only rubble — and memories — remained.

“All you could see were skeletons of trees and chimneys, the ones that hadn’t fallen, stuff blowing in the streets, nobody around,” Crystal, 78, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “It was like an episode of The Walking Dead, like this thing had just come through and wiped out everything.”

As all four surveyed the ruins together, Lindsay spotted a rock from their garden that had survived the flames. On it was engraved one word: “Laughter.” 

“That’s what’s gotten me through tough times starting when I was 15 when my father died,” says Crystal on a recent rainy afternoon at New York City’s Imperial Theatre, where his new one-man show 860, named for the street address of his beloved home, opens on Oct. 21.

Writing the script and stacking it with some of the funniest moments of his life and career was a way to cope with the devastation.

“It wasn’t just, ‘Oh, I’m going to make a play out of this,’ ” he says. “No, it was healing me at the same time.”

Billy Crystal shot at the Imperial Theater in NYC on Sept. 28, 2026. CREDITMartin Schoeller

Rob Reiner, whom Crystal calls “the friend of a lifetime,” encouraged him as he put the show together. Then, 11 months after the fires, came further heartbreak, the shocking murders of Reiner and his wife, Michele.

Crystal had written about profound loss before, in his Tony-winning show 700 Sundays, about growing up on Long Island and coping with his father’s sudden death from a heart attack. “The pain of those moments was a little further removed,” he reflects. “This is still fresh and still ongoing.”

Although his new show opens at the start of what he calls “the worst year of his life,” it is — as with virtually every performance by the comedian — a means of spreading laughter.  

Billy Crystal shot at the Imperial Theater in NYC on Sept. 28, 2026. CREDITMartin Schoeller

After all, that’s what has defined him, from his 1977 breakthrough role on Soap to the eternal charm of When Harry Met Sally . . ., nine memorable turns as an Oscars host and an outing as a lovable lime-green cyclops in Monsters, Inc. Says Crystal: “Laughter made my life possible.”

He and Janice are planning to rebuild on the property. Still, he says, “It’s not just about our home. This is a story about resilience, about family, about laughing, loving, support, moving forward, facing things you never thought were possible and coming to grips with it. And then turning it into something that feels beautiful to do every time I do it.”

Read on for a conversation with Crystal, condensed and edited for clarity.

Take us back to Jan. 7, 2025.

CRYSTAL We were awakened early with low-flying helicopters, and then a lot of fire trucks, sirens, and there’s already a lot of smoke in the sky and then turning on the TV and seeing friends abandoning their cars and running for their lives. Then it became really real, and you think, “It went from 20 acres to 200 acres in 15 minutes. Let’s get out of here.” Then the alert went off. We never heard that sound before. We took photo albums, wedding albums, photographs of our parents’ weddings. So that’s what we had and the clothes we were wearing, thinking we’ll be back in a day. 

Billy Crystal’s Pacific Palisades house after the 2025 fires. Courtesy Billy Crystal

Where did you go?

CRYSTAL We got to my daughter Jenny’s house. Our security cameras, all you could see were the flying embers. Then the cameras went out, and we started watching the [news] coverage from the Palisades. And your life there, for 46 years, the stores, where you eat, pick up your prescriptions, it’s disappearing. Oh boy, it’s blocks from the house. Then you sort of know: you’re doomed. The beautiful part was being with my daughters and their husbands, my grandchildren, my brother and sister-in-law and everyone else around the country who we’re related to, texting, watching. It was a vigil, just trying to get us through the night.

How did you learn your house had burned down?

CRYSTAL In the morning we still didn’t know, except that the National Guard had moved in, and it was a war zone. Then our neighbor called, hysterically crying to say, “It’s gone.” 

When you found the rock with “Laughter,” what did that mean to you? 

CRYSTAL When I was 15, being there with a grieving mother and watching her put her life back together at 49, my job was to keep her laughing. That word made my life possible. So the fact that was the first thing [we found], we’ll be okay.

Billy Crystal Found One Key Item After Losing His Home in the L.A. Fires 

The rock Billy Crystal found that survived the fire. Courtesy Billy Crystal

SOURCE: Billy Crystal Found One Key Item After Losing His Home in the L.A. Fires (Exclusive)

The show also addresses the loss of Rob and Michele Reiner. How did you meet Rob?

CRYSTAL There’s a lot of themes in this show about luck and fate. [As a] young comedian, I came out to California and ended up at the Comedy Store. I did 20 minutes. Norman Lear happened to be in the audience. He just introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Norman Lear.” Two weeks later I got a call that Norman wanted me to play Rob Reiner’s best friend in this episode of All in the Family: “I think you and Robbie will be great together.” 

First impression?

CRYSTAL He’s tall and he’s in charge. He looked at me, a new guy, and said, “Billy, what do you think we should do there?” Inclusive right away. So many times we couldn’t keep a straight face. I knew it from that first week that this is going to be a forever thing. It’s not something you can define, which makes the loss even more profound.

His dad, Carl Reiner, and Mel Brooks also had a big influence on you.

CRYSTAL Carl taught me how to step back and make someone else funny and also how to be a mentor. His house was an open invitation to young comedians. The most touching thing about Carl and Mel, and I’m in touch with Mel all the time, they would have dinner together every night and watch a movie, and more than likely they’d fall asleep, and then they’d have to watch it again the next night. I said, “Mel, what movies do you watch?” [He’d say] “We watched Bourne Identity, and I still don’t know his identity because I fell asleep. Who is he?” 

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How’d you get the part in When Harry Met Sally . . .?

CRYSTAL I was not Rob’s first choice for Harry. I said, if he wants me, then he wants me, but I know he’s seeing other people. Then the call came: “I always knew it was you.” He said, “Please read it.” I said, “Someone snuck it to me. Guess what? I don’t like it.” We laughed and laughed. He said, “We’ll start tomorrow.” 

Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock 

By the way, who was first choice? 

CRYSTAL I think it was Albert Brooks, Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton. [He pauses, then grins.] Doesn’t matter. 

Are there times when you still see something and want to tell Rob?

CRYSTAL It happens a lot. We had the first run-through on this stage, and I felt so good. I ran upstairs to the dressing room, and my first thought was, “I’ve got to call Rob.” I don’t know if I don’t want that to keep happening or I do want it to keep happening. He encouraged me. I had told him what I was doing, and he said, “What are you calling it?” I gave him these [different] titles, and he said, “I think 860. That’s the one. I love that.” So he’s there for me in that way too. What can I tell you? 

The show is also a love letter to your wife, Janice.

CRYSTAL We just realized the other day our first date was 60 years ago, as we always joke, during the Johnson Administration. When you can’t describe someone, that’s how big it is. Hilarious, charming, beautiful, loving, nurturing, honest, compassionate, tough, assertive, not just with me. Strong-willed. The greatest grandmother. 

Billy Crystal with his wife Janice and daughters Jenny and Lindsay. Courtesy Billy Crystal

How’d that first date go?

CRYSTAL Good! I hope Yankee fans don’t get mad at me, but we went to a Mets game. First time I saw her, I knew. She walked by me in a bikini. She had a great walk, and I said to my friend, “Steve, I’m going to marry her.” And I still walk behind her going, “You’re looking good, kid.”

What have you learned about marriage and love? 

CRYSTAL Oh God. It’s possible. I’ll leave it at that.

In the show, you say, “Grief sped up my life.” 

CRYSTAL You sense the reality of time, and you start measuring it. I hate the term “bucket list” because that assumes you’re going to kick it. But you sense choices become more important. How do you stay loving? How do you stay optimistic?

How do you stay optimistic?

CRYSTAL It’s that [“Laughter”] rock. It’s hard to, seeing what’s happening in the world. It’s crazy out there, but okay, surround yourself with people who love and care about you and you care about them. And as Mel Brooks would say, never eat fried food.  

Where’s the rock now? 

CRYSTAL I brought it with me. It’s my touchstone.

Crystal’s one-man show 860 opens on Oct. 21 and will run for a 14-week limited engagement through Jan. 3. Bing Videos

“I Documented Everything, Then I Started Writing” – Billy Crystal On His New Broadway Show, “860”

Colbert Before Air: Billy Crystal Strolls Down Memory Lane at The Ed Sullivan Theater

Billy Crystal on finding humor in the darkest of times

Extended interview: Billy Crystal – YouTube

To watch the full interview, visit the PEOPLE App.

For more from Billy Crystal, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE on newsstands everywhere.

Billy Crystal reveals he no longer trusts God after two devastating tragedies NOT THE ANSWER

Some experiences don’t change your world. They change the way you see GOD & yourself.

The ultimate caregiver’s handbook for Parkinson’s – Search Videos

A Guide to Care: Parkinson’s Disease Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders in the world, with around 60,000 Americans receiving a Parkinson’s diagnosis each year and nearly 1 million Americans currently living with the disease, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. The condition usually affects people over age 65: Approximately 1.6% of seniors have some form of the disease, according to a 2013 study in Missouri Medicine. However, there’s a lot we know about the disease and a lot a caregiver can do to help ensure their loved one receives the best support possible.

What is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that affects a specific area of the brain and leads to tremors, stiffening of the limbs and regions of the body, and difficulty moving. General coordination is affected, with walking and balancing becoming difficult, which brings an increased risk for falls and injuries. Eventually, Parkinson’s may affect a person’s speech.

Parkinson’s is progressive — meaning it worsens with time — and is not curable. Beyond its effects on movement, the disease may alter a person’s sleep, memory, and behavior.

Parkinson’s disease causes

Parkinson’s disease occurs when certain neurons in the brain die or become impaired. These nerve cells are located in a midbrain structure called the basal ganglia, a structure that controls muscle movement and produces dopamine — a chemical responsible for coordinated muscle function. While researchers don’t know how many neurons must die for Parkinson’s-related motor symptoms to appear, estimates range from 50% to 70%.

As to what causes the onset of Parkinson’s, there’s still no single, clearly identified cause. Currently, evidence supports both genetic and environmental factors in the cause of Parkinson’s, with environmental toxins playing a significant role in the disease’s progression, according to a study published in the journal Annals of Neurology.

The prevalence of Parkinson’s varies by region, and it affects men more than women — both facts that add to the complexity of the disease. Research is underway to determine the reasons for these new discoveries.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in older adults

Persistent body tremor is one of the most readily observed symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in elderly adults. However, Parkinson’s patients early in their diagnosis also indicate the following as the most troubling symptoms, in order:

• Sluggish movement
• General or specific stiffness
• General or specific pain
• Loss of smell and/or taste

Other common symptoms may include:

• Challenges with balance
• Depression
• Disrupted sleep
• Frozen facial expressions or decreased facial movement
• Hand cramps
• Muffled speech
• Shuffling

How is Parkinson’s disease diagnosed?

Parkinson’s disease in the elderly is not easily diagnosed, as no screening or tests readily reveal the condition. However, some screenings and tests may rule out other conditions and help your loved one’s physician proceed in their evaluation.

Because there’s so much variability among patients in how the disease progresses, doctors can’t accurately predict how quickly symptoms will worsen or even which specific symptoms will develop for each patient. This makes it difficult to say which symptoms of onset of Parkinson’s disease will actually result in a diagnosis.

“How one person displays symptoms may be quite different from another patient,” explained Ruth Hagestuen, former director of field studies at the National Parkinson Foundation. “However, the sooner a patient visits a neurologist, the better. That way, a treatment regimen can be implemented, because this is a chronic illness and will require many modes of treatment over time to maintain life quality.”

To further complicate diagnosis, the onset of Parkinson’s symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean a patient has the disease. Parkinsonism, the term for displaying symptoms without actually having Parkinson’s disease, was found in 35% of those patients monitored in a 2002 study. Parkinsonism can be caused by medication complications, blocked blood vessels in the brain, or other chronic conditions like dementia.

To properly diagnose Parkinson’s disease in older adults, a neurologist or other qualified physician must complete a neurological examination and evaluate the patient’s complete medical history. Most importantly, your loved one’s doctor must also observe as many physical symptoms as possible.

Conditions that mimic Parkinson’s

Early detection is crucial in managing PD effectively. Early-stage symptoms of Parkinson’s include slight tremors, changes in handwriting (micrographia), and reduced facial expressions. However, other diseases can obscure early diagnosis of PD, which is another significant reason why a neurology appointment should be scheduled as soon as possible in the diagnosis process.

According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, conditions that are most similar to Parkinson’s display a wide range of familiar symptoms.

Essential tremor disorder

Many elderly people experience essential tremor disorder. These tremors are different from Parkinson’s tremors in that they affect both hands and result in shaking of the head and voice.

Progressive supranuclear palsy

Progressive supranuclear palsy typically affects people after the age of 50, usually worsens more rapidly than Parkinson’s, and results in imbalance, falling, stiffening of the midsection, and difficulty with eye movement.

Corticobasal degeneration

Corticobasal degeneration is an uncommon condition that affects speech, balance, and posture and also leads to slowness of movement. Affected limbs often become severely or completely disabled as this condition progresses.

Multiple system atrophy

Possibly the most difficult disease to distinguish from Parkinson’s, multiple system atrophy has an earlier onset (mid 50s) and rapid progression, which are two key characteristics of this neurodegenerative disease. As this condition intensifies, more symptoms arise and may indicate that other systems of the body are compromised.

Vascular parkinsonism

Caused by a series of small strokes, vascular parkinsonism usually leads to mobility challenges and is located more often in the legs than the arms. Though treatment is the same for PD, it’s much less successful for vascular parkinsonism.

Lewy body dementia (LBD)

Lewy bodies are round protein structures that develop among brain cells and displace them, disrupting their functioning. Patients with LBD will typically exhibit parkinsonism in addition to cognitive impairment similar to Alzheimer’s disease. Vivid hallucinations are also possible.

How is Parkinson’s disease treated?

While Parkinson’s disease remains irreversible and progressive, a range of treatment options can help manage symptoms. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy can all be beneficial. Some medications are very effective at helping people live with Parkinson’s, and your doctor may even suggest surgical options.

Parkinson’s medications

Because symptoms vary with each patient, the choice and dosage regimens of medications need to be customized and adjusted as the disease progresses. The past decade has seen the development of new medicines that have “significantly improved the quality of life for people with the disease,” according to Cleveland Clinic.

If medications seem like the right path for your loved one, review those listed on Cleveland Clinic’s website (linked above), and discuss your loved one’s options with their doctor.

Ultimate Parkinson’s Tips to Walk Faster, Stand Up, Unfreeze, Turn in Bed, and More: O’Connor, Graham: 9780359718801: Amazon.com: Books

Surgeries used in treating Parkinson’s

Several surgical techniques have been developed for Parkinson’s, although it’s important to emphasize that none of them offers a true cure — and there are risks. While treatments can sometimes slow the progression of some symptoms, no treatment can reverse the course of the disease. Here are two of the more common and extensively researched techniques:

• Brain lesioning procedures, including thalamotomy and pallidotomy, destroy different regions of brain tissue involved in Parkinson’s disease. This permanent effect on the brain is not recommended for both sides of the brain, and the improvements don’t always last. Thalamotomy is only effective at reducing severe tremors, while pallidotomy may also help to reduce the dyskinesia side effects that can result from long-term drug therapy.
• Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an alternative treatment to brain-lesioning surgery. A metal electrode is placed in the targeted area of the brain, and a pulse is generated to alter the abnormal function of that region. No brain tissue is destroyed in this procedure. The patient’s general health often determines the success of surgical treatment. DBS may be conducted on both sides of the brain if symptoms warrant it, but only if the patient is in good health.

Living with Parkinson’s

A patient with Parkinson’s disease benefits from a multidisciplinary approach to therapy, including physical, occupational, and speech, as well as psychological counseling. Creating an exercise plan, improving diet, and redesigning daily routines may improve your loved one’s well-being significantly. There is even promising evidence showing acupuncture can help relieve discrete symptoms of Parkinson’s and help with sleep. Seniors with Parkinson’s disease commonly find that they need long-term care.

“Parkinson’s disease will definitely impact every facet of a person’s life,” Hagestuen explained. “But a closely monitored treatment regimen including medication, exercise, and therapy proves tremendously beneficial in most cases.”

Hagestuen also recommended water exercise, Pilates, tai chi, and even dance therapy as ways to stay active and keep the muscles moving. Walking is also essential.

“Many people become much more physically active after they have received a Parkinson’s diagnosis,” she says. “And many people live healthier lives and function quite well.”

However, patients with Parkinson’s often feel a great deal of anxiety knowing that the progression of the disease is irreversible. Shielding themselves from what they perceive to be their future state, patients often turn inward and avoid others with the disease, Hagestuen noted. This obstinacy can make it difficult for family and caregivers to persuade their loved one to join Parkinson’s support groups and other activities with peers.

The first step a recently diagnosed patient should take, according to Hagestuen, is to talk with someone who really understands the disease.

“Often people don’t hear what they don’t want to hear and so continue onward in less than beneficial ways,” she explained. “Finding a care team that really listens and provides good feedback will really help the patient maintain a good quality of life.”

A Place for Mom’s interview with Ruth Hagestuen was conducted in January 2018.

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Simon Cowell Saw Her at 6… 13 Years Later, She Stunned Him Again!

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You’ve Never Heard “Bridge Over Troubled Water” Like This.. (Irish Folk Version) — Timeless Memories

Melody Morgan of Western Tennessee was shocked to learn she has stage 4 colorectal cancer.

I have stage 4 cancer at 44. I wish I hadn’t ignored these early warning signs

Story by Melody Morgan, as told to Newsweek

Key takeaways

• Diagnosis & Symptoms: Diagnosed in 2026 with stage 4 colon cancer, Melody initially ignored signs like blood in stool, abdominal pain, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss, attributing them to everyday life.
• Faith & Support: Her faith, family, and church community provided emotional and practical support, helping her navigate hospital stays and treatment.
• Awareness & Advocacy: She shares her story on TikTok to raise awareness that colon cancer is rising among young people, emphasizing the importance of early detection through colonoscopies.

Melody Morgan is a 44-year-old seamstress and single mom to an 11-year-old son in Western Tennessee. In 2026, she was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and began sharing her story on TikTok. As colon cancer rates continue to skyrocket among young people, Morgan spoke with Newsweek about what she wants people to learn from her experience, and how her faith and family have helped her through it all.

Gracious. This is a thing that I say when I’m overwhelmed or upset or scared or in awe of God’s kindness to me, in the way that He uses my circumstance—in this case stage 4 colon cancer—for my good and for His glory.
The first night in the emergency room was a blur, and one of those nights where you experience the full spectrum of emotions. I thought I was going in to get some IV fluids for a pesky stomach bug that wouldn’t go away. A friend had to practically drag me there, because I don’t have time to go to the ER. Who does? She sat with me while I got the IVs and we thought, “We’ll be out of here in a couple of hours, feeling better!”

She sat with me while they did some bloodwork, which I was hesitant to do, because I don’t have health insurance. She sat with me while a doctor said, “There’s something bigger going on here. We need to do an abdominal CAT scan.” They did it, and that’s when they saw the mass in my colon and a mass in my liver. I was dehydrated and anemic; I had all these problems I had been pushing through. Problems that I had just chalked up to “middle age” and “being tired,” because who isn’t? My friend sat with me as we MarcoPolo’d her husband to keep him updated—at the beginning of the evening it was all laughter and hot goss. By the end it was tears and, “I might have cancer.”

They gave me a blood transfusion right away and kept me in the hospital for three days. It was zero to 60, right there. It was a shock. It was three days of letting my church know, letting my small group know, feeling God’s comfort, and knowing people were praying for me and caring for my family in tangible ways. Church members and family members brought me food and watched my son and…loved me…in ways that my pride previously would not have allowed. It was three days of rolling around in the gradations of “I might be fine” to “I might die, and what will happen to my son?”

I had to put my “God is sovereign” money where my mouth was.

A colonoscopy confirmed I had cancer. Later the doctor scheduled a liver biopsy to confirm that the mass in my liver was indeed metastasized cancer. I was shocked. I’m very active and I’ve always been healthy. Looking back, I can see that I had some symptoms, but they were all things that were easy to brush off as something minor. Now, in hindsight, I see that I ignored a lot of things. But they didn’t interfere with my day-to-day life. I believed what I wanted to believe, because when you’re a self-employed single mother, you’re never “off the clock.”

Colon cancer is the cancer of the young; more young people are getting colon cancer and dying from it, and the reason is they are ignoring their symptoms. Caught early, colon cancer is one of the easiest cancers to treat. That’s one of the reasons I started talking about this on TikTok. I’m looking at the possibility that I could die. Had I gone in for a colonoscopy even six months before I did, I could have caught my cancer at stage 2 or stage 3, which is much easier to treat, and also doesn’t have the long-term consequences of stage 4 cancer.

The No. 1 symptom I ignored (which is horrifying to write about in Newsweek—gracious!) was blood in my stool. It’s easy to say, “Oh, it’s hemorrhoids, or oh, it was something I ate.” I’ve been telling people, “You should not be actively bleeding. If you see blood in your stool, go to the doctor.” For me, I would be sitting on the toilet and there would be blood in my stool, and I would look it up on my phone: “What causes blood in the stool?” And the internet would tell me, “Either you have colon cancer or you have hemorrhoids.” I didn’t want to have colon cancer. So I would tell myself, “Oh, it’s hemorrhoids,” and I would get on with my day. And I think a lot of people do that.

Another symptom I had was abdominal pain, but it wasn’t bad. I just thought, “Oh, my stomach hurts from time to time in that same spot.” Fatigue is another symptom, but that one’s also difficult because everybody’s tired, everybody works hard. The last symptom I had was unexplained weight loss. I, like most American women, have been trying to lose weight and over the past year, it was really easy to do so. I thought, “Well, look at me, I’m doing super.” Now I see that losing weight shouldn’t have been so easy.

Morgan, seen here with one of her dogs, began sharing her story on social media to educate others about the early warning signs of colorectal cancer.

Looking back at all these things together, I think, “Gracious, how did I miss all this?” But I know how I missed it: I was busy. This diagnosis has helped me slow down a little bit (OK, a lot…I’m fighting cancer) and appreciate my son, my friends, my family and my church. I was talking with my sister recently and said, “If I die today, what would my son remember about me? It would be, ‘My mom worked, my mom was out in the garden, my mom was busy, busy, busy.’” And I thought, I need to sit down and play Uno with him. I need to focus more of my attention on him. In a way, this diagnosis has given me a restart.

How can a person learn to be grateful for a cancer diagnosis? It’s hard, but only possible because of the Lord.

My church family has blessed me so much. They have brought meals, they have mowed my grass—you name it, they’ve done it. It’s humbling to look outside and see a random kid mowing your lawn and look upstairs and have a random church lady scrubbing your bathroom. I’m grateful. And receiving that love and care from my church family is also a gift that I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t have cancer. Having cancer has changed me mentally and emotionally, and it’s helped me to be kinder and gentler toward people. And I’m grateful for the common grace of medication, and doctors who know things.

So far, I’ve done six rounds of chemotherapy. The goal was to try to shrink the softball-sized tumor on my liver enough for surgery, then do another round of chemotherapy to make sure the cancer is gone. I started off strong, but with these last two treatments, I’ve been really sick. My doctor said, “You know what?

The cancer is being killed by the chemo, but the chemo is also killing you, so we’re going to take a break.” So, I have the month of October off from treatment, and then I’ll do a PET scan to see if I’m ready for surgery. The surgery would remove the tumor from my liver as well as the top part of my colon, where the other tumor is located.

My son has been a great motivator. Chemo is brutal, and the thought of this major surgery is terrifying, but my son is 11 and I’m not done raising him and that has been a motivator to get up and fight. Sitting down and explaining to him, “Mom has cancer,” is one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. And I’ve done some tough things.

An 11-year-old doesn’t understand everything, but they understand the big, heavy words. He formed this idea in his brain that if I die, life will simply go on like normal for him. “I’ll live in this house all by myself and mow the grass and take care of the dogs and make the spaghetti.” One day he said, “Mom, you need to tell me how to write a check.”

And I said, “Gracious, what do you need to write a check for?” And he said, “So if you die, I can pay the bills.” That’s the gut-wrenching, hard part. But there’s also something sweet about seeing my son lean into, “I’m going to be OK, too.” He’s a tough kid and I love him so much. I want to be here for him.

I’m grateful that God is using my cancer to encourage others. Even in suffering, I want to be faithful, and be salt and light to the people in my life. Only a good God could take something like cancer, which is evidence of sin and death in the world, and use it for good.

I’m typically a very positive, cheerful person, but my attitude toward this diagnosis is a reflection of my faith. My good. His glory. I very strongly believe that God is in control, and because of that I can rest and have peace, even with cancer.

All views expressed in this article are the author’s own.

Mom shares early warning signs of colon cancer after stage 4 diagnosis at 44 | Watch

Melody Morgan’s Stage 4 Colon Cancer Journey

Melody Morgan, a 44‑year‑old seamstress and single mother from Western Tennessee, was diagnosed in 2026 with stage 4 colon cancer and has shared her story widely on social media and in interviews, highlighting both the medical and emotional realities of her illness Yahoo.

Diagnosis and Early Symptoms

Morgan’s journey began when she went to the emergency room for what she thought was a stomach bug. After bloodwork and an abdominal CT scan, doctors discovered a mass in her colon and a mass in her liver, indicating metastatic disease Yahoo. She had been experiencing fatigue, dehydration, and anemia, which she initially attributed to “middle age” and general tiredness Yahoo. A colonoscopy confirmed the cancer, and a liver biopsy confirmed metastasis Yahoo.

She has said that early warning signs she noticed included persistent digestive issues, weakness, and unexplained fatigue Newsweek. She urges others not to ignore such symptoms, noting that colon cancer rates are rising among younger people Yahoo.

Medical and Treatment Context

According to her TikTok updates, stage 4 colon cancer often involves chemotherapy regimens such as FOLFOX, a combination of drugs used to target and shrink cancer TikTok. Her treatment plan includes surgery, chemotherapy, and a long recovery period, alongside the emotional and logistical challenges of being a single parent TikTok.

Personal and Spiritual Impact

Morgan has described her experience as a mix of “zero to 60” shock, gratitude for community support, and a deep reliance on her faith. She has spoken about “gracious” as a guiding word during overwhelming moments, trusting that her circumstances are being used “for my good and for His glory” Yahoo. Church members, friends, and family provided meals, childcare, and emotional support Yahoo.

Community Support

A GoFundMe campaign, “The MELathon: Blessing Melody in Her Cancer Battle,” has been launched to help cover medical costs and living expenses during her treatment and recovery GoFundMe. Supporters have described her as a generous, creative, and beloved member of her church community GoFundMe.

Key Takeaways

• Awareness matters: She emphasizes that early symptoms should not be ignored Yahoo+1.
• Support systems are vital: Faith communities and friends have been instrumental in her care Yahoo.
• Treatment is complex: Stage 4 colon cancer often requires aggressive chemotherapy and long-term management TikTok.
• Resilience through faith: Morgan’s spiritual outlook has been a source of strength Yahoo+1.
• For more, her story  on TikTok under the handle @melodytennessee TikTok, and in fundraising efforts GoFundMe. 

Research shows early‑onset cancer (under age 50) is rising globally due to factors like increasing obesity, lifestyle changes, environmental exposures, and earlier-life risks; for example, colorectal cancer in young adults has been rising nearly 2% per year since the mid‑1990s.

Overview of the Trend

• Multiple studies confirm a global increase in early‑onset cancers, affecting people under 50 across many countries. Anglia Ruskin University – ARU
• At least 14 cancer types have shown rising incidence in younger adults between 2010 and 2019. Harvard University
• Forecasts predict early‑onset cancer cases could rise over 12% by 2050 if trends continue. Anglia Ruskin University – ARU

Which Cancers Are Increasing?

Common cancers rising in younger adults include:

• Colorectal (one of the steepest increases) Columbia University
• Breast (most common in adults under 40) Columbia University
• Uterine, kidney, pancreatic, stomach, melanoma, thyroid, and others. Anglia Ruskin University – ARU

Key Factors Driving the Increase

1. Obesity and Metabolic Changes

• Excess body weight is now the second biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking.
• Obesity is occurring earlier in life, exposing younger generations to long-term hormonal and inflammatory effects. Anglia Ruskin University – ARU

2. Lifestyle Shifts Across Generations

Researchers describe a “birth‑cohort effect”: people born in the 1990s have much higher early-life cancer risk than those born in the 1950s.

• Diet changes (more processed foods, less fiber)
• Sedentary lifestyles
• Increased alcohol consumption
• Poor sleep patterns
  These early-life exposures may have cumulative effects. Columbia University

3. Environmental Exposures

Experts suspect widespread environmental changes may contribute:

• Pollutants
• Endocrine‑disrupting chemicals
• Changes in the microbiome (gut bacteria)
  These factors are still under investigation. Harvard University

4. Earlier and Better Detection

Improved screening (e.g., colorectal screening age lowered from 50 to 45) has increased detection rates.
However, this does not fully explain the rise, because many cancers in young adults are being found at more advanced stages, indicating a true increase in occurrence. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

5. Possible Genetic and Biological Factors

While genetics alone cannot explain the rapid rise, researchers are studying:

• Genetic predispositions
• Interactions between genes and modern environments
• Microbiome changes
  Harvard University

What Can Reduce Risk?

Experts emphasize:

• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Eating a high‑fiber, minimally processed diet
• Exercising regularly
• Limiting alcohol
• Avoiding smoking
• Getting recommended screenings (especially colorectal screening starting at 45)
  Harvard University

Summary

The rise in cancer among young people is real, accelerating, and driven by a combination of lifestyle, environmental, metabolic, and possibly biological factors, with obesity and early‑life exposures playing major roles.

This 13-Year-Old’s Audition Is IMPOSSIBLE To Forget

Oct 19, 2026 #AGT #GotTalent #BGT

Evie Clair | America’s Got Talent 2107 Wiki | Fandom  Evie Clair was 13 years old when she auditioned for AGT. At the time, her dad was struggling with cancer and was given a 5% chance to live. The song she chose was dedicated to her dad and his continued fight. Her performance left everyone speechless.

Which song did Evie Clair sing audition of AGT – Search Videos

Evie Clair sang Christina Perri’s “Arms” for her America’s Got Talent Season 12 audition

During her first appearance in 2017 at age 13, Evie chose “Arms” as a heartfelt tribute to her father, Amos Abplanalp, who was battling stage four colon cancer at the time, She explained that she would sing it for him to give him comfort and strength during difficult days. Her performance was deeply emotional, earning a standing ovation and “Yes” votes from all four judges — Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell agt.fandom.com.

The song, originally written by Christina Perri, is a folk‑pop ballad about love and support, which matched perfectly with Evie’s personal story. Simon Cowell praised her for delivering “the best vocal you’ve ever done” and for being “really unbelievably brave” for sharing her journey.

Evie’s audition was so moving that it became one of the most talked‑about moments of Season 12, and she went on to progress through the competition, though her father passed away just two weeks before her final performance The Music Man.

Evelyn Clair Abplanalp, who is from Florence, Arizona, has been playing piano and singing since she was two. Evie got her public start as Molly in Anne at Hale Theater at eight years old. She performed the National Anthem at a Diamondbacks game, released two original pop singles, won in her category at the 2014 Arizona’s Rockin’ with Talent, and received one of three Judges Choice awards in a world-wide contest for her cover of “Glorious.” Her music video cover of “Take On Me” was awarded by the Arizona Interfaith Movement for promoting the Golden Rule and presented at the Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Evie recorded with Rob Gardner for the soundtrack of “Cokeville Miracle” and recorded as a soloist on an album produced by Arizona Golden Rule Educational Experiences called “Stars Shine Brightly.” Evie enjoyed opening for the world-famous Duttons and working with classmates to create a music video promoting kindness and forgiveness. Evie won a contest to sing the theme song for “Once I was a Beehive” and was able to perform it live for the official movie premier. 

She also had an original song featured on the movie soundtrack. In 2015 and 2016 Evie Clair was invited to participate in the world wide Mormon.org special Christmas initiatives and has recently released her latest pop single “Love You One More Time” on iTunes and Amazon, Pandora, Spotify and other online music outlets. [1]   

On September 7th, 2017, Evie’s father, Amos Abplanalp passed away due to Stage IV cancer. [2]    Stairway to Heaven

Following her America’s Got Talent appearance, Evie has continued to build her music career. A year after her appearance on the show, she dropped her debut album Okay Day, which featured 10 songs, all with Evie as the sole or lead songwriter.

She has continued to build her profile through her socials, and she currently uploads several videos a week to her YouTube channel, which has 157k subscribers and 19 million total views. Her videos are a mix of musical content, including covers, her original music as well as quirky content such as her latest video, which features her singing Disney songs while cooking lasagna. If you would like to see more from Evie Clair, you can subscribe to her YouTube channel .

You can also visit her official website for more information.

I Have Stage 4 Cancer at 44. How God’s Goodness and Common Grace Are Getting Me Through It – Newsweek

5-Year-Old Girl Sings Heartbreaking Tribute to Dolly Parton A.I. #tribute #dollypartontribute 

Why are so many young people getting cancer – Search Videos

Why Are More Younger People Getting Cancer? | U.S. News

Why Are More Younger People Getting Cancer? | U.S. News

COVID-19 and Blood Clots: What To Know || Stop denying this shit is happening. Scary

Jalen Hurts Out for Season After Blood Clot Diagnosis

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will miss the rest of the 2026 NFL season after doctors discovered multiple blood clots in his lungs, with a good prognosis for full recovery KOCO 5 News+1.

Diagnosis and Medical Details

Hurts was initially sidelined in early October after taking a cleat to his left calf during the Oct. 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams KOCO 5 News. Early specialists diagnosed a superficial vein thrombosis in his calf, but further testing revealed a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and bilateral pulmonary emboli — blood clots in both lungs KOCO 5 News+2.

According to the Eagles and Hurts’ agent, he is clinically stable with no significant functional limitations. His treatment involves anticoagulation (blood thinners), and he is not allowed to participate in any contact activities, including football, while on this medication KOCO 5 News+1.

Prognosis

The team and medical staff expect a full recovery with no long-term effects. Hurts is anticipated to return to contact football once he is off blood thinners KOCO 5 News+2. He will remain active with the team and continue conditioning during his recovery.

Career Context

Hurts, drafted by the Eagles out of Oklahoma in 2020, has led Philadelphia to five straight playoff appearances, three NFC East titles, and two Super Bowl appearances, including a 2024 win over the Kansas City Chiefs KOCO 5 News. He is in the midst of a five-year, $255 million extension through 2028 KOCO 5 News.

Jalen Hurts is expected to miss the remainder of the 2026 NFL season after doctors discovered multiple blood clots in his lungs, diagnosed as deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli on October 19, 2026.

What Happened

• Medical evaluations revealed deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, meaning clots traveled from his leg to his lungs. E! Online
• He is clinically stable and undergoing treatment with anticoagulants (blood thinners). Fox News
• While on blood thinners, he cannot participate in contact activities, including football. Yahoo

Timeline and Season Impact

• NFL Network and ESPN report a minimum three‑month recovery, effectively ending his 2026 season. ESPN
• The Eagles placed him on injured reserve, confirming he will miss significant time.NFL.com

Prognosis

• His agent, Nicole Lynn, states his prognosis is very good, and he is expected to make a full recovery with no long‑term effects anticipated. Parade

Jalen Hurts’ recovery timeline and medical restrictions make his return this season impossible, but reports consistently indicate a strong long‑term outlook.

Team and Coach Response

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni emphasized that the decision to have Hurts play in London was made with input from medical experts and that the team “cares deeply” about player safety CBS News. The Eagles released a statement affirming their commitment to his health and recovery KOCO 5 News.

In summary: Hurts’ season is over for 2026 due to serious but treatable blood clot issues. Medical staff are confident he will recover fully and return to play when medically cleared KOCO 5 News+2.

The Philadelphia Eagles Failed Jalen Hurts 

Different types of blood clots bring different kinds of symptoms. Doctors explain what you might experience if you have a blood clot.© Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES QUARTERBACK Jalen Hurts is out for the rest of the 2026-27 NFL season. Originally, the Super Bowl MVP was diagnosed with a superficial blood clot in the left calf. However, an official statement issued today announced multiple blood clots in his lungs.

While the 28-year-old is “clinically stable” and with a “very good” prognosis, he is not allowed to participate in any contact sports—including football. Hurts is currently undergoing treatment with blood thinners. But what does it all mean to have a blood clot—and can it happen to anyone? We asked the experts to break it down for us.

What Is a Blood Clot?

BLOOD CLOTS, ALSO known as coagulation, are a natural healing process we’ve all experienced. When you cut yourself, blood clots—platelets, proteins, and cells stuck together—over the injury to keep you from bleeding excessively. Once the injury heals, your body naturally dissolves the clot.

Where Can a Blood Clot Form?

A BLOOD CLOT can form anywhere in your body.

Sometimes, blood clots form in your blood vessels or arteries without an injury, and they don’t naturally break down. Blockage of blood vessels and restrictive blood flow can cause a life-threatening condition called thrombosis.

“Thrombosis is responsible for about one in four deaths worldwide,” says Erich De Paula, MD, PhD, vice dean and associate professor of hematology at the University of Campinas School of Medicine in Brazil.

How a Blood Clot Feels in Different Parts of the Body

A BLOOD CLOT in your arm and the leg veins is known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). There are also different types that can appear in your lungs and brain. Each type has its own set of symptoms.

Blood Clot in Your Lungs

WHEN BLOOD CLOTS in your legs break off and travel to your lungs, it can cause a pulmonary embolism (PE). A PE is “the worst-case scenario” when you have a DVT, says Bibhu Mohanty, MD, cardiologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of South Florida. DVT and pulmonary embolism affect about 900,000 Americans every year.

Symptoms can vary depending on your overall health and the size of the blood clot, but as blood flow to your lungs becomes more restricted, you might experience:

• Coughing that might produce bloody mucus
• Dizziness
• Heart palpitations
• Leg pain or swelling
• Sudden shortness of breath
• Sharp and sudden chest pain

Sometimes PE has no symptoms, says Dr. De Paula. In other instances, “a severe and acute PE can be experienced with symptoms from sudden death to near-fainting, severe chest pain, and abrupt shortness of breath.”

Blood Clot in Your Leg

DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS refers to blood clots that form in your body’s deep veins, usually your legs or arms, according to the National Blood Clot Alliance. Symptoms might include:

• Swelling, often in one arm or leg
• Pain or tenderness, usually described as a cramp
• Reddish or bluish skin
• Leg or arm that’s warm to touch

“It’s sometimes hard to describe,” says Dr. Mohanty. “It’s like I feel pain that won’t go away, but I didn’t pull a muscle or hurt myself. I feel something that’s tight and just hurts.”

DVT often happens after long periods of being sedentary—such as taking a long-haul flight, lengthy car trip, or sitting for long periods of time, he says. Smoking, being over 60, and being overweight can increase your risk.

Blood Clot in Your Heart

BLOOD CLOTS CAN form in the arteries of your heart and block blood flow, causing a heart attack. Symptoms might include:

• Chest pain, pressure, or discomfort
• Shortness of breath
• Arm or neck discomfort
• Fainting
• Abnormal heart rate
• Loss of consciousness

“It is common that patients do not point to a specific area of the chest, but rather to a more extensive and poorly defined area of the chest when asked to identify the pain point,” says Dr. De Paula.

The symptoms can occur gradually or suddenly.

Dr. Mohanty says you might also experience sweating, gas, and bloating, and it might feel like acid reflux or heartburn. Vary depending on which artery of the heart is affected and the size of the artery. 

Blood Clot in the Brain

BLOOD CLOTS CAN also block blood vessels to the brain, which can cause an ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke.

A stroke can happen when a blood clot forms within a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain, known as cerebral thrombosis, according to the American Stroke Association. It can also occur when a blood clot forms in the heart or another part of your circulatory system, breaks loose, and travels through the brain’s blood vessels. This is known as a cerebral embolism.

The F.A.S.T. warning signs can help you spot a stroke:

• Face drooping
• Arm weakness
• Speech difficulty
• Time to call 911

Numbness, confusion, trouble seeing, difficulty walking, and severe headaches can also signal a stroke.

“Basically, if you’re noticing a marked change in your face, your ability to talk and move your hands or arms, one compared to the other, it is extremely important to go to the hospital,” Dr. Mohanty says.

When to Seek Emergency Care

THE INDIVIDUAL SYMPTOMS of different types of blood clots can vary, but anytime you have chest pain or discomfort that’s radiating to the upper limbs or neck, shortness of breath, or a cough, seek medical attention, Dr. De Paula says. Also don’t disregard any unexpected pain or cramping in your leg that’s not related to an injury.

Basically, any time “something isn’t right and is different from your human experience, and it won’t go away, it’s definitely time to seek a professional opinion.

FOOT 👣 NOTE: Which energy drinks is the worst for your health – Search

While taurine itself is not a known pro‑thrombotic agent, energy drinks that contain high doses of taurine plus caffeine and other stimulants have been linked to a hypercoagulable state in some studies American Blood Clot Association.

These drinks can raise blood pressure, cause dehydration, and impair blood vessel lining (endothelial dysfunction), all of which can promote clot formation American Blood Clot Association. 

This risk is tied to the combination of ingredients, not taurine alone.

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Survivor finds her ‘new normal’ after 9/11

Her story is one of resilience, courageous and nothing short of inspiring — it is by every definition, as her New York Times bestseller states on its cover, a story of “Unmeasured Strength.”  Just months ago, Lauren Manning stood before the Democratic National Convention. Her path there, however, was not an easy one.

Manning was one of the most severely injured survivors on 9/11. More than 82 percent of her body was burned. On that day, she believed she would die but found the strength to hold on.

“For that day the most poignant thing that I will come away with is being in flames and this interminable, incalculable pain and looking upward screaming to my son, I won’t leave you. No, I can’t leave you now. I haven’t had you long enough,” recalled Manning

Manning was newly married at the time, for about a year to her husband Greg. The two had a beautiful son Tyler, who was only 10 months old when the U.S. was attacked that 2001 day.

Their son witnessed it all — from Lauren’s infections, lung collapses, amputations and every step of her physical therapy and recovery. Much of this was even chronicled by Greg Manning through emails he wrote to friends, family and supporters all over the world.

Those emails even chronicled and published in a book entitled “Love, Greg and Lauren.”

As the country commemorates 25 years since 9/11 — since this country lost 2,996 innocent souls — Lauren Manning, along with her husband will be where they always are on 9/11, with her Cantor Fitzgerald family, remembering the colleagues and friends they lost.

Never, for a moment, Manning says, has she forgotten the power of her survival.

After all, with permanent scars and constant pain across her body, she can’t:

“I am doing as well as can be expected. I am happy I open my eyes every day and take that breath and can get out of bed. I aimed to blow out any stat that said I couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t or wouldn’t and I defined myself by what I wanted. I look down and say I’m actually able to do this. I feel like the richest woman in the world,” said Manning with a smile across her face.

Lauren is a managing director and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald. Her firm fills floors 101 to 105 high above her.

Moments earlier, American Airlines Flight 11 tore into floors 93 to 99.

Burning jet fuel pours down the elevator shafts. It explodes into the lobby.

The flames catch her back and arms.

She does not wait.

She runs.

Still on fire, she crosses all six lanes of West Street. She reaches a strip of grass. Two strangers help her drop and roll until the flames go out.

She is in terrible pain. But her mind is clear. She shouts: “Get me to Weill Cornell, now!”

She knows the city’s best burn center is there.

But she is first taken to another hospital. It has no special burn unit.

That night. Ten hours later.

Lauren is moved across a locked-down city to the burn center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

Seventeen other survivors fill the intensive care unit that night. Many will not live.

The doctors see the damage.

Burns cover 82.5 percent of her body. Her lungs are badly hurt.

She needs a machine to breathe. Her chance of dying is put at 90 to 95 percent.

Across town, her husband Greg is frantic. At home is their son, Tyler. He is just 10 months old.

Here’s what makes it worse:

Lauren’s company is gone. Of the people she works beside every day, 658 are killed.

Friends. Partners. Faces she has known for years.

Lauren has made it out. But her fight is only beginning.

Doctors put her into a deep sleep. She stays under for almost two months.

The team, led by Dr. Roger Yurt, performs 11 major surgeries. Each one holds several procedures.

They use donor skin. They take what healthy skin she has left, stretch it, and graft it piece by piece.

She battles severe infection. She loses parts of some fingers. Some joints must be fused.

Greg stays close. He talks to her. He reads her poems. He plays her songs.

September 19, 2001.

Eight days after the attack, Greg sends an email to 30 of Lauren’s friends. It is a simple update.

Then he keeps writing. Day after day.

The emails spread. Soon, about 100 messages a day pour in, many from strangers.

Late October. Lauren wakes up. She believes she will go home by the end of the week.

She has no idea how hurt she is.

Doctors explain. There is no release date. There may be months ahead.

Therapists have been moving her arms and legs for weeks. Now she must work with them.

November 12, 2001.

The goal for the day is a chair. It sits about 4 feet from her bed.

Lauren thinks it will be easy. It is not.

She cannot sit up alone. Her grafted legs hold weight for the first time in two months. The pain nearly knocks her out.

But with help, she drags her legs to that chair.

She is crying.

She later jokes that she looked like a walking mummy.

Three days later.

She stands again. This time she aims for the nurses’ station, 30 feet away.

Step by step, she gets there.

Doctors, nurses, and therapists crowd around. One therapist runs into the hallway. She tells Lauren’s waiting parents that their daughter is walking.

The walls of that hallway are covered with cards from strangers all over the world.

Everyone is clapping. Everyone is crying.

But one fear still haunts her.

Will her son know her?

Tyler is kept away for 67 days. The risk of infection is too high.

At that time, he turned 1. He learns to walk. He grows into a toddler she has never seen.

On the day of the visit, he walks right past her.

He does not know his mother.

Lauren’s breathing tube has just been removed. Her voice is weak. But she sings him the little lullaby that used to calm him.

Tyler stops. He turns. He smiles at her.

Lauren later says everything she fought for lived in that one moment.

December 2001.

After 91 days, she leaves the burn center. She spends three more months in a rehab hospital.

March 2002.

Lauren goes home.

Recovery does not end there. For years, she returned to the hospital five days a week for therapy.

In the early years, she had an operation about every 9 weeks.

The same month she comes home, Greg’s emails become a best-selling book. Its title is Love, Greg & Lauren.

2009. Lauren becomes a mother again. Her second son, Jagger, is born with the help of a gestational carrier.

September 2011.

After Burn Injuries, Sept. 11 Survivor Shows ‘Strength’ : NPR

On the 10th anniversary, she published her own memoir, Unmeasured Strength.

Unmeasured Strength is a 2011 memoir by Lauren Manning, a survivor of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda on New York City. The memoir was published by Henry Holt. Landro, Laura (20 August 2011). “A 9/11 Survivor Tells Her Story”. Wall Street Journal.

Wikipedia

A survivor’s awe-inspiring story of how she overcame tragedy and re-created herself as a wife, mother, and woman.

She was a hardworking business woman, had a loving husband and an infant son, and a confidence born of intelligence and beauty. But on 9/11, good fortune was no match for catastrophe. When a wall of flame at the World Trade Center burned more than 80 percent of her body, Lauren Manning began a ten-year journey of survival and rebirth that tested her almost beyond human endurance.

Long before that infamous September day, Manning learned the importance of perseverance, relentless hard work, and a deep faith in oneself. So when the horrific moment of her near-death arrived, she possessed the strength and resilience to insist that she would not yield–not to the terrorists, not to the long odds, not to the bottomless pain and exhaustion.

But as the difficult months and years went by, she came to understand that she had to do more than survive. She needed to undergo a complete transformation, one that would allow her to embrace her life and her loved ones in an entirely new way.

Fleeing the burning tower, Manning promised herself that she would see her son’s face again. Courageous and inspiring, Unmeasured Strength tells the riveting story of her heroic effort to make that miracle–and so many others–possible.

“Unmeasured Strength is a gripping tale of [Lauren Manning’s] long fight back from a devastating injury that easily could have killed her… She has valuable lessons to impart about the personal challenges of overcoming physical and emotional adversity.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Intense, humbling, Manning’s story is, above all, amazing.” —Parade

“With the steadfast love of her husband, Greg… and her own unwavering focus, Manning’s inspiring memoir records an extraordinary path of resilience and willpower.” —Vogue

“All the emotion in her voice that’s necessary shines through as she reads…Because of the way Lauren tells her story, even those who might normally be squeamish about hearing someone tell about medical procedures shouldn’t worry. She speaks of her lengthy return to health tactfully and with grace, and I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone.” —Bookloons

“You are brave and courageous and a hero to all of us.” —Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator from New York, 2001

“Your essence defines what it means to be a survivor.” —Oprah

“This is a very inspiring book.” —Barbara Walters, The View

“I have found my new hero. Her name is Lauren Manning…Her determination is awe inspiring. She is the most remarkable woman I think I’ve ever met.” —Katie Couric

“One of the most extraordinary books I’ve read in a long time. I recommend everyone to go and read this, because it’s a tale of inspiration and courage.” —Piers Morgan, CNN

“It’s a powerful book … There are so many 9/11 remembrances and so many 9/11 stories as we commemorate, celebrate, this tenth anniversary, but this one is the one that everybody’s talking about.” —Tavis Smiley, PBS

“Unmeasured Strength is an extraordinary book. It is heartbreaking and shocking, compassionate and uplifting. It is a testament to determination and to love. Manning shows that life has things worth fighting for, if you have the clarity to see them and to fight unwaveringly until the end.” —BookReporter.com

“[An] uplifting story of courage, love and compassion… With honesty and simplicity, Manning details her miraculous escapes first from the crippled North Tower; then from limb amputation; and then from death, which stalked her relentlessly for three months. … Ten years later, her life has returned to ‘normality’ thanks to the unstinting love shown to her by family, friends and strangers.” —Kirkus

“Your message of hard work and faith would resonate in the day to day difficulties that we all face … Lauren, your grace and courage are an inspiration.” –Marla Lerner Tanenbaum Principal Owner, Washington Nationals Chairperson, Washington Nationals Dream Foundation

“Unmeasured Strength is both an enduring story about the resilience of character and an ode to the human determination to defeat evil. Lauren Manning did what the mighty Greek Sisyphus could never do: push the boulder to the top of the hill and never let it roll down. She has written a brilliantly vivid, wholly empowering tour de force that makes the impossible seem possible; her inspiring example just may teach us how to reverse our fates.” —Lucinda Franks, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, author of My Father’s Secret War

“An extraordinary story of the spirit’s triumph over pain and the body’s will to stay in this world despite being literally burned alive in the fires of the Twin Towers…This is a message of hope that we can all be grateful to share.” —Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York

One of her doctors, Dr. Palmer Bessey, later puts it plainly. The team kept her body alive.

Lauren is the one who got her life back. Lauren never forgets the 658.

She says they did not get the chance to fight that she got.

She calls it a gift.

Her lesson is simple. Every day, she says, you have a choice.

She chose to make hers count. Lauren Manning – Wikiquote

#SurvivorStory#InspiringStories#NeverGiveUp#HumanStrength#September11#viralpost

https://laurenmanning.com

References

9/11 Books to Read on the 20th AnniversaryLauren Manning – Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

Unmeasured Strength: A Story of Survival and… by Lauren Manning · Audiobook preview

After Burn Injuries, Sept. 11 Survivor Shows ‘Strength’ : NPR

“I Made a Decision to Live” | Mount Sinai – New York

Kate Vogel Nittolo
·
Her story is nothing less than miraculous. The early days when she was in the fight of her life for survival and then recovery, her husband published the emails he had written to their family and friends chronicling the journey. The book is, “Love, Greg and Lauren.” What an amazing story!

Love, Greg & Lauren

by Greg Manning (Author) Format: Hardcover

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (85)

Love, Greg & Lauren: Manning, Greg: Amazon.com: Books

Early on the morning of September 11, 2001, Lauren Manning-a wife, the mother of a ten-month-old son, and a senior vice president and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald-came to work, as always, at One World Trade Center. As she stepped into the lobby, a fireball exploded from the elevator shaft, and in that split second her life was changed forever. Lauren was burned over 82.5 percent of her body.

As he watched his wife lie in a drug-induced coma in the ICU of the Burn Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Greg Manning began writing a daily journal. In the form of emails to family, friends, and colleagues, he recorded Lauren’s harrowing struggle-and his own tormented efforts to make sense of an act that defies all understanding. This book is an email with detailed, intimate, inspiring messages that end, always, as if a prayer for a happy LOVE, GREG & LAUREN

We share this story day by astonishing day. Greg writes of the intricate surgeries, the painful therapies, and the constant risk of infection Lauren endured. Through his eyes we come to know the doctors, nurses, aides, and therapists who cared for her around the clock with untiring devotion and sensitivity. We also come to know the families with whom he shared wrenching hospital vigils for their own loved ones who were waging a battle that some would not win.

It was, most of all, Greg’s belief that Lauren would win her brave fight for life that kept him writing.

Through his eyes we see what she could not-their toddler’s first steps, the video of his first birthday party, the compassionate messages of hope from around the world. And we are there as Lauren gradually emerges into awareness, signaling first with her eyes, then with smiles, her understanding of the words Greg speaks to her, the poems he recites, the songs he plays.

Most miraculously, we are there when Lauren walks out of the Burn Center. The world knows all too well both the nightmare and the heroism that have marked this terrible time in history. But no account of September 11 matches the astonishing personal story Greg Manning records in these spontaneous and heartfelt pages.

It is a story that invites us to share, email after e-mail, the perilous course of a mortally wounded woman who by sheer will and courage emerges from near death because she is determined to live for her husband and her son. And it is equally the story of a man who, as he stays by her side through these long weeks and months, discovers a new depth of his love and admiration for the woman who becomes his hero. Bing Videos

His wife watched the Twin Towers collapse on 9/11… she had no idea her husband was still alive | Watch

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Patricia Moran Alvarez
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Kate Vogel Nittolo , amazing…can’t believe what she had to endure..followed her story from beginning ….
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Karen Hinkes Levine
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The fact that she was late for work saved her life. She was not in the office
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Paul Quin
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THE WILL TO LIVE WAS EVER PRESENT!!!
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Victoria Clayton
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Her book is truly a story of never giving up and fighting until the very end….when she walked out of the hospital. I couldn’t put it down.
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Bonny Sidhu
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Beyond amazing. Her steadfast desire to survive and live when most would have given up speaks volumes of her fierce determination and inner strength. Hope she has a great life ahead
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Marianna McCown
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A powerful symbol of resilience and a gift to all that may have lost their way in such a short time. She has s bit there to judge. She is only there to help those who sacrificed their independence. In my mind’s eye the whole truth is she does not deserve any entity to be overshadowed by a lesser than ..
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Patricia Patuto
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What an uplifting story!! We don’t hear a lot of survival stories. You are amazing. Your husband and son must be so grateful. God gave you another chance at life
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Maureen Routledge
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Such a remarkable woman, an inspiration. She had a tremendous will to live, even through this horrific time for her. .
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Ann Cicatelli Corbo
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I can’t imagine the pain she had to endure! The fight to live!
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Arlene Metrione
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Such an inspiration who not only has a beautiful smile but a faithful soul that must inspire others and her story be told in our history books, lest we forget.
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Joan Ontell
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I think she hasn’t been to the office yet and was in the lobby that day
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Most Relevant is selected, so some replies may have been filtered out.

Keely Smith
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Thank you for sharing this beautiful story of courage. Never forget.
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Garilynn Cuchapin
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This story made me cry. I’m glad everything worked out for you and your family.

Some good news came out from this 9/11 sadness. 
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Gloria Rosati-Culver
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Blessings to Lauren and all she went through! 
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Mary Beth Babecki Cassarini
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What an amazing woman!
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Debbie Fischer Weltmann
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Warrior!!!!!
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Samantha Kostelecky
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What an incredibly strong woman. 
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Maureen Placa
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I have followed Lauren’s story ever since she first appeared on the Today Show.

Lauren Manning on the Today Show. – Search

Such a remarkable woman! God bless her and her beautiful family.
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Julie Bump-Jacobson
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I have thought of her often over these years! I’m so relieved to hear this news! I look forward to reading this book!
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Barbara Levine
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Incredible strength!
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Elsie Rodriguez-Rizzuto
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Amen & Amen… continued healing and blessings over her and family…
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Mary Monica Callahan
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Brave woman forever changed along with her family. An inspiration….
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Sherry Yenser
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This young lady deserves a medal for courage, strength and determination. God Bless You. 

What you endured is an ordeal no one should have to go through. I wish you the best in whatever you endeavor.
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Rita Walker
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What an incredible story. God bless you
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Patricia DeMelio Easterday
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You are incredible!!
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Shelley Becker
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What an inspiring story of resilience, love and strength. She resembles Marla Maples..so lovely and beautiful.
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Rainey Foster
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God bless you , Lauren and your remarkable family. You are the “win” this Country needs.

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Cindy Patterson
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Such an inspiration!
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Mary Kay Harris
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What an amazing and inspiring story! What a brave and courageous woman. 

Her husband is very faithful and courageous, as well.
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Karen Rees
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I read her memoir. She’s a Warrior! Tough as nails!
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Beth McCrink
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What an amazing champion from a day of nightmares. She is inspiring! May her friends rest in peace
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Erin Mcquade
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just got her book. yesterday. She has such strength. sending her prayers
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Chris Brown
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What an incredible woman Lauren is!
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Rain Heff
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Amazing story of survival God bless her.
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Terry Southworth
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Never forget
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Norma Navarro Aurigemma
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Amazing strength & endurance.
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Lisa Kritz Sanders
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I have no words ! Wishing you a life filled with amazing new experiences.
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Judy Gentry
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Wow! What a story of survival
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Charlotte Craver
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Mary Ashleigh Yacenda. A must read!
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Linda DeVito
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Prayers you and your family will continue to heal
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Marilyn Greene
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Blessings to you and your husband that stood by you…
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Carol Pfaelzer
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Good bless her and her family and her caring doctors and nurses and therapists!!!!!!
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Janice Leonardo Kump
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Her book is amazing!!!!
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Kelly Spill with husband John Bonito and their three children: Jayce, Mya and Nash on Sept. 23, 2025 Credit: Kelly Spill

Mom’s rectal cancer disappears in 5 months without chemo or surgery thanks to groundbreaking new drug (exclusive)

Story by Wendy Grossman Kantor

The FDA just approved Jemperli for some adults with locally advanced rectal cancer, offering an effective immunotherapy treatment option

Key takeaways

• Targeted Treatment: Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly) is FDA-approved for adults with locally advanced MSI-H/dMMR rectal cancer, offering a non-surgical, chemo-free option.
• Patient Success Story: Kelly Spill, diagnosed at 28 with stage 3 rectal cancer, saw her tumor completely disappear in 5 months through a Jemperli clinical trial, achieving no evidence of disease.
• Quality of Life Impact: Unlike traditional treatments, Jemperli allows patients to avoid colostomy, radiation side effects, and early menopause, enabling normal life events like having children.

Kelly Spill was 28 when she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. With an 8-month old baby and a new fiancé, she couldn’t imagine enduring chemo, radiation and surgery. So when biomarker genetic tests showed that she was eligible to participate in a clinical trial for a new treatment, a targeted immunotherapy: Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly), she jumped at the chance. Five months later, the tumor was completely gone, and she was declared no evidence of disease.

“It can eradicate cancers,” says Dr. Luis Diaz, gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “It’s leading to cure — not just shrinkage of tumor, not just prolonged life, but cure in these patients where they no longer need chemotherapy, radiation or surgery, and that’s a tremendous impact.”

Traditional treatment for rectal cancers, like Kelly’s, often leave patients with bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, an ostomy bag and in young women’s cases, put them into menopause, according to Diaz. But Spill was able to have two babies after completing treatment. “It never would have happened were it not for this treatment,” says Dr. Andrea Cercek, gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering, who treated Spill. “It’s a cure, with a significantly better quality of life.”

In September, Spill hit her five-year cancer-free mark.

On Monday, October 19, the FDA approved this treatment for adults with stage 2 and stage 3 MSI-H/dMMR locally advanced rectal cancer. “This drug was a miracle to my life,” says Kelly Spill, now 34, a stay-at-home mother of three children, Jayce, 7, Mya, 3 and Nash, 1, in Tinton Falls, N.J., and co-founder of Mingling Mamas, a postpartum support group. “Jemperli saved me. It saved my family too.”

She shares her story in her own words with PEOPLE’s Wendy Grossman Kantor.

When I was around eight months pregnant in February 2019, I started seeing blood in my stool. I told my partner, John Bonito and I told my mom. They both said the same thing: Talk to your doctor.

I told my OB about the blood and that I also felt constipated. It was right before I was about to give birth. My doctor’s like, “Things are moving around. This is normal.” I didn’t question it.

My baby boy, Jayce, was born on April 3, 2019.  Life was good.

At my six-week postpartum checkup, I told the doctor I was still seeing blood in my stool. My OB said, “Keep an eye on it. I’m 99.9% positive you have internal hemorrhoids.”

I started to not feel well every day. I had abdominal pain in addition to blood in the stool and constipation. I thought, “Something’s not right.” I was taking ibuprofen round the clock.

My primary care doctor did a blood test and another exam and also said it’s probably internal hemorrhoids.

My partner, John Bonito, (now a 38-year-old middle school special education teacher) asked me to marry him in July.

Baby Jayce holds the ring on the day John proposed to Kelly Credit: Kelly Spill

A month later, we moved from San Diego, to Bradley Beach, N.J., to be closer to family, especially my mom, Susan Spill, a retired special education supervisor.

As time went on, my symptoms got worse. By January 2020, I was feeling more pain in my abdomen and more blood in my stool. The constipation was so awful. I couldn’t eat. I started to lose weight. I lost about seven pounds. I already weighed about 115 at the time so it looked like a lot. People were telling me, “You need to eat a cheeseburger.”

One morning I went to the bathroom and it looked like I had my period and it wasn’t. That’s when I was very concerned.

I went to a family clinic that took my limited insurance. Again, I was told it might be internal hemorrhoids. It made me feel crazy. A nurse I met there told me, “If you don’t find your answer here, keep searching because you know your body best. Nobody knows your body like you.”

I will remember that for the rest of my life. My mom looked at me and I was like, “We need to figure this out.” The next day I had the same episode where it was like I had my period and that’s when we really knew it was serious.

I finally had a colonoscopy on January 17, 2020.

That’s when they found the tumor. I was 28 years old. I was engaged to be married. Our son was 8 months old.

The doctor couldn’t determine if it was cancer until he sent it to pathology. But I knew it was something bad. I went out in the parking lot with my mom and I just lost it. I started crying.

Two weeks later, my mom and I were at Walmart when I got the call that it was cancerous. I’m thinking, “Am I going to die?”

My mom is a saint. I don’t know how anybody goes through any type of cancer not having someone next to them listening, writing things down. It’s so much information. It’s a lot of big words, and you’re so sick and scared and you don’t even know what’s going on. Having her by my side was a blessing. She helped me me figure out the next steps.

John and I got married right away so I could be on his health insurance for treatment. We got married January 27, 2020.

Kelly Spill and John Bonito on their wedding day, January 2020 Credit: Kelly Spill

On my wedding day, I walked down the stairs thinking that I was going to pass out, I felt so sick. We tied the knot and then came right back home.

My first appointment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York was in February 2020. They told me I had stage 3 rectal cancer. They said the treatment plan would be chemotherapy and then radiation and oral chemotherapy. After that, surgery.

The doctor said I would most likely have a colostomy bag for the rest of my life. But the other news was worse: “After the radiation, after surgery, you most likely will never be able to carry another child again.”

That’s when I broke. I started hysterically crying, and that’s when it hit: This is really happening to me.

I was in my own sorrow.

Before starting chemo, we did go through IVF and we created and froze four embryos, two boys and two girls. That actually was the most painful process of my journey because I had the tumor sitting right there, a centimeter from my anal opening, and then I’m growing all these eggs and it was extremely painful.

Kelly Spill at the beach with her son, Jayce, July 30, 2020, covering her treatment port. Credit: Kelly Spill

The first week of March we had an appointment at MSK to set the chemo appointment and chat with the doctors about the treatment plan.

Thankfully, a research nurse told me about an opportunity for a different treatment plan. She told me that I had the biomarker for a clinical trial for a new type of immunotherapy called Jemperli. Only three people prior to me have been on the medication. I’d be the fourth patient in the country. I said, “Okay, I’ll try it.” I thought to myself, “What do I have to lose?” If it doesn’t work, we’ll just go back to treatment A.”

My first treatment was the third week of March 2020. I had an infusion every three weeks for 30 minutes, and by the second infusion, I had already started to feel better.

It’s kind of gross to tell, but I always feel like it’s important: I went to the bathroom a few hours after the second treatment — and I was actually able to go — I was actually concerned because of how much I had to go.

I told my doctor’s and they said, “That’s a great sign. It means your tumor’s shrinking.”

I started feeling better. I was tired, but it could have just been motherhood. I didn’t feel any serious side effects from this treatment.

Kelly Spill with her husband John Bonito and three kids December 14, 2025 Credit: Kelly Spill

By my fourth treatment, we found out that my tumor had shrank 50 percent, which was a miracle. When we heard that news, I looked at my mom, she looked me, I’m like, “Oh my God, this is amazing.” I’m also thinking, “Maybe I can have another baby.” That was always on my mind.

Leaving that appointment, a nurse pulled my mom aside and said, “The three people ahead of Kelly, they did not have to go through any radiation or chemo, their tumor just completely disappeared.”

My mom told me, she was thinking, “Do I tell my daughter this? Do I get our hopes up? What do I do?”

She told me. I was like, “Oh my God, what?” I started crying. I had hope.

We both said, “We’re not going to tell anybody. We don’t want to jinx it.”

Of course, we went home and we told everybody.

By my ninth treatment, my tumor had completely disappeared. I was declared no evidence of disease on August 19, 2020. It had only been five months.

Kelly Spill on Sept. 17, 2021 Credit: Kelly Spill

I look at my husband, he looks at me, I’m like, “This is a miracle.” And I’m thinking, “Can I have a baby?” My oncologist recommended waiting at least two years, because if the cancer’s going to come back it’s mostly likely going to come back within two years.

I thought being in survivorship would be a breeze. I thought that it’s like butterflies and rainbows, but it couldn’t be any further from that. I was having panic attacks and anxiety attacks, and I didn’t know why. I felt so lost. I didn’t know who I was at this point.

In the summer of 2021, my husband and I took my parents’ RV and we drove cross country hitting 15 national parks.  We called it our elope-cation. We were already legally married, but we eloped in the rainforest in Olympic National Parks. My parents watched our little boy during that time for a month, which is crazy, and we were able to get away and just reconnect.  

It was just beyond beautiful.

John Bonito, Kelly Spill, Jayce and Mya on Oct. 9, 2023 Credit: Kelly Spill

My husband saved my life too. Our relationship was very fast. We met, we got pregnant, I had cancer, and then I begged him to marry me because I needed health insurance. He wanted to do all those things. He completely saved me. He’s such a beautiful soul and he stuck by my side from day one. He hasn’t left. He’s amazing.

After two years, I got the green light from my oncologist so we could start the process of having a baby. We used one of our frozen embryos, and we were able to choose baby girl. I found out that I was pregnant November 11th, 2022. Our daughter Mya was born on July 14, 2023.

I was declared five-years cancer free in September 2025. At the time, I was 33 and pregnant with our third child.

Kelly Spill and husband and children, pregnant with her third child, in April 2025 Credit: Kelly Spill

Going through cancer completely changed my perspective on life and the way that I see this world now. It’s important for people to share their stories. I share mine on Instagram and Stand up to Cancer. It’s important for people to self-advocate and to remember that even though you’re going to a doctor and you’re asking them questions, you still have to do your own homework. You to know your body. Trust your gut.

I do like to push for colonoscopies at young age. If you’re feeling any symptoms, if you even think something might be going on, get a colonoscopy. It’s not scary. It’s okay. It could be a scarier situation if you wait. Get checked.

Kelly Spill and her husband John Bonito and three children: Jayce, Mya and Nash in September 2026 Credit: Kelly Spill

I know how much this new treatment could save somebody. The only catch is that their tumor has to test positive for a certain mutation called MMRD, and if they don’t test for that, they can’t go on this drug. But if they do test for it, they can go on this drug and they can have a majorly different outcome than going through chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

I am very lucky.

Mom’s rectal cancer disappears in 5 months without chemo or surgery thanks to groundbreaking new drug (exclusive)

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