Actress Christina Applegate, 51, Became a Mom a Decade Before Her Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis. But What About Women Already Battling MS Trying To Get Pregnant?

Several years before the “Married with Children” star dealt with multiple sclerosis and became a mom, she battled breast cancer in 2008. Despite undergoing routine mammograms, Applegate has dense breasts, meaning a more thorough screening was needed to confirm if she had cancer or not. A biopsy confirmed her diagnosis, but thankfully, she caught the cancer in its early stages and quickly began treatment.

The study followed 254 pregnant patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The researchers concluded that “the rate of MS relapses decreased through pregnancy, mostly during the last trimester, while relapse rates increased three months after delivery and were equal to pre-pregnancy relapse rates.”

The data found that “estrogens and other sex hormones” during pregnancy influence an anti-inflammatory effect in a process called “immunomodulation,” which limits multiple sclerosis symptoms. However, these hormones are in shorter supply after pregnancy, and immunomodulation is reversed. Additionally, multiple sclerosis patients can conceive and give birth just as people without MS.

One aspect of dealing with multiple sclerosis symptoms while pregnant women must consider is how they utilize disease-modifying treatment (DMT). A study in American Family Physician found that DMTs “has been shown to slow disease progression and disability; options include injectable agents, infusions, and oral medications targeting different sites in the inflammatory pathway.”

The Impact of Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis causes the immune system to attack cells that form the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers in the spinal cord. The disruption leads to communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body.

Once the protective barrier is damaged, the spinal cord struggles to communicate to the body’s arms, legs, and other parts to function normally.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society outlines the different types of multiple sclerosis:

• Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is when an individual experiences a single neurological episode lasting 24 hours or less. CIS is what MS is diagnosed as until there is a second episode.
• Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS): The most common MS among the million people battling the disease in the US, RRMS is marked by sudden flare-ups, new symptoms, or worsening of symptoms and cognitive function. The condition will then go into remission for some time before reemerging with no known warning signs.
• Primary progressive MS (PPMS): These individuals have no flare-ups or remission, just a steady decline with progressively worse symptoms and an increasing loss of cognitive and body functions.
• Secondary progressive MS (SPMS): This almost transitional form of MS progresses from RRMS to PPMS.

In addition to balance issues, numbness, and tingling in the limbs, as Applegate experienced, other common MS symptoms include vision and bladder control problems. Mood changes and mental and physical fatigue are other symptoms people living with MS may experience, according to the National Institute of Health.

Treating Multiple Sclerosis

There is no cure for MS, but MS warriors battling the disease do have methods to manage their symptoms.

Common tools MS patients use to improve their quality of life include wheelchairs, canes, leg braces, and some medical treatments called disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).

A study in American Family Physician found that DMTs “has been shown to slow disease progression and disability; options include injectable agents, infusions, and oral medications targeting different sites in the inflammatory pathway.”

While chemotherapy is widely known as a cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells, it is also effective at slowing down or stopping disease activity in MS.

Christina Applegate’s Multiple Sclerosis Journey

Since 2021, Applegate has battled multiple sclerosis (MS), which makes the honor much more meaningful. The incurable disease has already impacted her life on and off camera, so if she manages to snag an Emmy, that will make for a remarkable milestone.

The disease impacts the central nervous system and can cause numbness or tingling in your limbs. The diagnosis came more than a decade after she dealt with a breast cancer diagnosis in 2008.

“With the disease of MS, it’s never a good day,” Applegate previously wrote in her Instagram post.

“Having MS f—ing sucks…You just have little s—– days,” she said.

She explained how her symptoms are impacting her daily life.

“With the disease of MS, it’s never a good day,” Applegate explained to Vanity Fair.

She said everyday activities like taking showers, using stairs, and carrying things are all challenging. Since Applegate’s symptoms can have wide-ranging impacts, she noted voiceover work is best suited for her at this stage in her career.

“I can do voiceover stuff because I have to support my family and keep my brain working,” she said.

However, performing on camera is no longer an option for the longtime actress due to her MS symptoms.

“I can’t even imagine going to set right now. This is a progressive disease. I don’t know if I’m going to get worse,” she said.

Amid her ongoing struggles, an Emmy nomination for her latest project could be just the pick-me-up Applegate needs to remain upbeat.

Christina Also Battled Breast Cancer Before Becoming a Mom

Applegate’s breast cancer journey began in April 2008 at 36 years old.

“I went through five weeks of work without telling anyone that this was going on in my life,” she said during a CNN interview.

Applegate said she had dense breasts and would need more thorough examinations for her routine mammogram screenings.

“He suggested that I get an MRI,” the actress said.

WATCH: What to know about dense breasts.

Dr. Connie Lehman, Chief Breast Imaging Division at Mass General Hospital, says dense breast tissue is harder to see through.

“The fatty breast tissue has a gray appearance, so an X-ray beam just runs right through it. But the dense structures block the X-ray. And so that looks white. And unfortunately, cancers also block the X-ray, and so cancers also look white. When you have a white cancer hiding in white, dense breast tissue, it can be missed,” Dr. Lehman explains.

Women with dense breasts are recommended a 3D mammogram, which can better see through dense breasts.

When Applegate underwent an MRI screening, something was amiss.

“They found some funky things going on [in one breast],” she said.

A biopsy confirmed her diagnosis, but luckily, the cancer was caught early. Despite her prognosis, she was still very concerned with her diagnosis. She then turned her worry into determination, and she focused her efforts on beating the cancer. She underwent a lumpectomy, which is a procedure that removes the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue. For early-stage breast cancer, studies have shown that lumpectomy plus radiation is as effective a treatment in preventing breast cancer recurrence as mastectomy.

Applegate then underwent six weeks of radiation, using high-energy beams aimed at the cancer cells to kill them.

During treatment, she then learned she tested positive for the BRCA gene, increasing her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

“That sort of changed everything for me. Radiation was something temporary, and it wasn’t addressing the issue of this coming back or the chance of it coming back in my left breast. I sort of had to kind of weigh all my options at that point,” she explained.

The harmful variant of BRCA1 or BRCA2 is inherited from either or both of your parents. So, each offspring of a parent who carries the mutation has a 50% chance of inheriting it.

“Patients with a strong family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer or patients who have a diagnosis of a couple of breast cancers in their lifetime will be at higher risk,” University of Maryland breast medical oncologist Dr. Kate Tkaczuk explains.

WATCH: Testing for the BRCA gene mutation.

The actress’ doctor gave her treatment options, but she ultimately opted for a double mastectomy, which removes both breasts to reduce her cancer risk. When a woman undergoes a double mastectomy, it is a personal and emotional decision that impacts how they feel about themselves.

“It just seemed like, ‘I don’t want to have to deal with this again. I don’t want to keep putting that stuff in my body. I just want to be done with this,’ and I was just going to let them go,” she explained.

Just before the procedure, Applegate said she staged her “first and last nude photo shoot” so she could remember her breasts. Just before the surgery began, Applegate admitted she began to cry.

“The floodgates just opened up, and I lost it…It’s also a part of you that’s gone, so you go through a grieving process and a mourning process,” she explained.

WATCH: What happens during a double mastectomy.

“A double mastectomy typically takes about two hours for the cancer part of the operation, the removing of the tissue,” Dr. Elisa Port, Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System, tells SurvivorNet. “The real length, the total length of the surgery, can often depend on what type of reconstruction [a patient] has.”

Dr. Port adds most women do opt to have some reconstruction. The length of these surgeries can vary. When implants are used, the procedure can take two to three hours (so the total surgery time would be around five hours). There is also the option to take one’s own tissue (usually from the belly area) and transfer it into the breast area, but this is a much longer procedure.

Since her breast cancer journey began, she’s advocated for women to undergo the necessary screenings for early detection.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you are diagnosed with MS or may be concerned you have the chronic disease due to symptoms you’re experiencing, consider asking your doctor the following questions.

• Although there’s no cure for MS, which treatment option to manage my symptoms do you recommend for me?
• Are there any potential side effects of MS treatment?
• What if the treatment to manage symptoms doesn’t work?
• Will exercise or therapy help my symptoms?
• Are there any MS support groups you recommend to help me cope?

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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