Applegate's New Diagnosis
- Breast cancer survivor Christina Applegate announced on Twitter this week she has multiple sclerosis (MS), and fans and friends are sending her love and support.
- The actress was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2008 and had a double mastectomy to treat it.
- MS is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of the body's nerves.
Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It's been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It's been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.
— christina applegate (@1capplegate) August 10, 2021
Love and support for the actress have been pouring in from around the world, including from her The Sweetest Thing co-star, Selma Blair, who is also battling MS. Blair writes, “Loving you always. Always here. As are our kids. Beating us up with love.”
Loving you always. Always here. As are our kids. Beating us up with love
— Selma Blair (@SelmaBlair) August 10, 2021
TV host Montel Williams also has MS and says, “We have MS – it will never have us unless we let it. Tara and I are sending hope and light your way.”
We have MS – it will never have us unless we let it. Tara and I are sending hope and light your way. ðŸ™ðŸ¾
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) August 11, 2021
The National MS Society also thanked Applegate for her transparency and candor, writing, “Thank you, Christina, for your courage in opening up about living with MS. We all appreciate the awareness that you are bringing to the disease. Please know that we at the MS Society are here to help in whatever way that we can.”
Thank you, Christina, for your courage in opening up about living with MS. We all appreciate the awareness that you are bringing to the disease. Please know that we at the MS Society are here to help in whatever way that we can.
— National MS Society (@mssociety) August 10, 2021
Some, simply sent their prayers, like Brooke Preston, who says, “Sending light, prayers, and strength for the road ahead.”
Twitter user Theresa Ann writes, “You are in my prayers, I am 19 years in with relapsing and remitting MS and I have been a police officer 23 years and still counting so we GOT THIS! Very very scary for the first couple of years but I'm doing GREAT and you have all of us here supporting you.”
You are in my prayers, I am 19 years in with relapsing and remitting MS and I have been a police officer 23 years and still counting so we GOT THIS! Very very scary for the first couple of years but I'm doing GREAT and you have all of us here supporting you â¤ï¸
— TheresaAnn (@TRawaillot) August 10, 2021
Understanding MS
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of the body's nerves.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke explains this disease as: “An unpredictable disease of the central nervous system…[MS] can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted.” Investigators of the disease believe it to be an autoimmune disease.
Most people experience their first symptoms of MS between the ages of 20 and 40 (Applegate is 49). Typically, one of the first symptoms of this disease is vision-related: Blurred or double vision, red-green color distortion, or even blindness in one eye.
Many people fighting MS experience muscle weakness and difficulty with coordination and balance. Currently, there is no cure for MS, although some people treat the disease using chemotherapy, medications, or steroid drugs.
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Applegate’s Breast Cancer Battle
Applegate was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2008 at 36. She says that the diagnosis led to a "total emotional collapse."
Applegate's treatment plan included a double mastectomy. Dana-Farber oncologist Dr. Ann Partridge explains in a previous interview the influencing factors around opting for a mastectomy to treat breast cancer. She says, "So when I talk to a woman who comes to me and she has breast cancer, I evaluate what the standard options for treatment for her are."
"[This] typically includes cutting out the cancer, which is either a lumpectomy if you can get it all with just a little scooping around of the area that's abnormal or a mastectomy for some women meaning taking the full breast because sometimes these lesions can be very extensive in the breast," she explains. "And I'll talk to a woman about that and I'll say these are two main options or the big fork in the road."
When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
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