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Suzane Somers is one of the most beloved actresses of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, starring in television series such as Three’s Company alongside John Ritter and Step by Step alongside Patrick Duffy. She has also become a healthy living model with her self-help and diet books. That’s why fans everywhere were shocked and saddened when the news came out about her sudden health crisis.
What disease does Suzanne Somers have? Find out that and more below.
What Disease Does Suzanne Somers Have?
Suzanne Somers joins the list of several worldwide who had to battle cancer in her lifetime, but she has come out gracefully on the other side.
What Kind of Cancer Does Suzanne Have?
Suzanne Somers has battled both skin cancer and stage II breast cancer.
How Old Was Suzanne Somers When She Got Cancer?
Suzanne Somers was 49 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer.
She was in her mid-30s when she battled skin cancer. Still, not much is known about her journey through that as much of the focus and discussion amongst fans, celebrities, and medical professionals, has been around her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
What Year Did Suzanne Somers Get Cancer?
Suzanne Somers’ breast cancer diagnosis came in 2001.
How Long Has Suzanne Somers Had Cancer?
Suzanne Somers’ initial battle with cancer lasted for a few years. She had a lumpectomy and radiation following her initial diagnosis.
Did Suzanne Somers Refuse Chemotherapy?
Yes. Instead, Suzanne Somers tried something different, and it was considered quite a controversial move.
How Did Suzanne Somers Get Rid of Cancer?
After Suzanne Somers declined chemotherapy to treat her breast cancer, she chose a more unconventional method to eliminate it. Instead, she opted to use Iscador, a special extract made from European mistletoe.
Along with that, it took 11 years for her to undergo reconstruction of her breasts, but instead of a mastectomy like doctors recommended, she became the first woman in the United States to legally use a form of treatment called “cell-assisted lipo transfer.”
She opened up about her journey with cancer in a recent interview with SurvivorNet. “Cancer has chased me most of my life, [but] cancer has not changed my life since it’s been my life for decades,” Somers said.
“What I wanted to do was less controversial than implants,” she continued, talking about the lipo transfer. “I was restoring my breast exactly as it was prior to the surgery.”
Suzanne Somers’ Book About Cancer
Suzanne Somers released her book, Knockout: Interviews with Doctors Who Are Curing Cancer, in 2009 after she was told by six doctors in 2008 that she and inoperable cancer and then just a week later found out about her misdiagnosis.
In it, she interviews multiple doctors about different cancer treatments and promotes the alternative forms of treatment she herself went through.
This led to much criticism from the American Cancer Society.
“The American Cancer Society is concerned,” a released statement said.
The statement also quoted Dr. Otis Brawley, American Cancer Society’s chief medical officer, saying, “I am very afraid that people are going to listen to her message and follow what she says and be harmed by it.”
Brawley continued by saying that U.S. celebrities seem to use their status to influence others with medical advice without having the educational, logical, scientific background behind the stats. “There’s a tendency to oversimplify medical messages. … Well, oversimplification can kill,” he said.
Some have noted that many who are criticizing Somers’ methods are also linked to the pharmaceutical industry, which makes hundreds of millions of dollars on conventional cancer treatments.
Although Somers’ methods were outside of the mainstream, they still led her to be cancer free for the last several years, which is the most important thing.
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