Updated June 3rd, 2020

Actress Felicity Huffman Is Back On The Big Screen — Portrays A Cancer Patient In Her First Movie Since Prison

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Have you ever wondered what it was like to walk in the shoes of a cancer patient? Well, Felicity Huffman is about to get a taste in her latest film.

Following a controversial scandal and prison sentence, actress Huffman, 57, is taking on the role of her life by playing a terminal cancer patient in latest movie Tammy's Always Dying. The movie, which will be released on streaming sites in May, follows the story of Tammy MacDonald, a woman who is told she has six to ten months left to live. This film marks Huffman’s first film since the University of Southern California’s College admissions scandal. Huffman pleaded guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She served 10 days in a federal prison in Dublin, CA. According to a statement by her representative, she would also be serving 250 hours of community service as part of her sentence.

This isn’t the first time Felicity Huffman has portrayed a woman battling cancer. In hit ABC series Desperate Housewives, Huffman’s character Lynette Scavo was diagnosed with cancer which she battled with a few seasons.

Cancer On The Big Screen Vs. Real Life

While Felicity Huffman may be portraying a woman battling cancer, her former Desperate Housewives co-star, Marcia Cross, has actually lived through it. Cross, 58, was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2018 a type of cancer that's not often discussed due to stigma. Cross revealed that the cancer was caused by the sexually transmitted virus Human papillomavirus infection (HPV), and after being declared cancer-free she became an advocate for removing stigma around the HPV vaccine and anal cancer.

Cross' advocacy stems from her experience receiving the diagnosis. While speaking to SurvivorNet, Cross said that she exhibited no symptoms and had never had an irregular pap smear or even heard of HPV until she was diagnosed.

"It's vitally important that ever gynecologist give their patients digital rectal exams," Cross told SurvivorNet. "It's life or death."

Marcia Cross talks to SurvivorNet about her anal cancer diagnosis, and the importance of talking to your gynecologist

Cross is correct that many people don’t talk about HPV and its relation to cancer. In fact, studies have shown that 70 percent of adults of any age do not know that the human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause oral, anal, and penile cancers. That study is certainly concerning, seeing as HPV is responsible for 34,800 cases of cancer in the U.S. each year90 percent of which could be prevented with the HPV vaccine.

Marcia Cross on how her husband helped each other through cancer treatments

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