Christina Applegate Is Back At Work After Sharing Her MS Diagnosis
- Breast cancer survivor Christina Applegate is back on set for the first time since revealing her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. Photos show her filming her Netflix comedy series Dead to Me alongside Linda Cardellini in Malibu, sporting a large prosthetic belly suggesting her character will be pregnant in season three.
- Applegate shared news of her MS diagnosis in August, revealing her battle with the disease began a few months prior. “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.”
- MS is caused when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. More specifically, the immune system attacks cells that form the protective barrier which shields the nerves in a person’s spinal cord and brain stem.
In photos obtained by DailyMail.com, Applegate, 49, is seen filming her Netflix comedy series Dead to Me alongside Linda Cardellini.
Read MoreThese images mark the second time that photos have emerged of Applegate filming on location. She had also been snapped back in June as she filmed in a wheelchair.
Those photos were taken two months before Applegate went public, and while fans had assumed that the wheelchair was a show prop, that is now unclear.
Applegate previously battled breast cancer in 2008, choosing to have a double mastectomy and later removed her ovaries and fallopian tubes to prevent the disease from returning in the future.
She decided to be very public about her battle at the time in the hopes of encouraging women to be screened for the disease.
Applegate’s quest to spread awareness about breast cancer began long before her diagnosis. She knew the devastating toll the disease could take as she helped nurse her mother, Nancy Priddy, back to health after her diagnosis in the late 90s.
She is now using her platform to spread information about MS as well, and just last month expressed some of the obstacles she faces in her day-to-day life.
In one post, she tried her best to describe what it is like living with MS while heralding the bravery of her Sweetest Thing co-star Selma Blair, one of the five friends that Applegate said are battling MS.
“Being technically disabled is what it is. I didn't know what MS was before I had it. My life is changed forever,” wrote Applegate.
“But my girl Selma Blair documented the first year. Which is hard. Please watch her documentary. Introducing Selma Blair. An intimate look inside a person with MS.”
Related: Actress Selma Blair, 48, Recalls Her Terrifying Early MS Symptoms: ‘My Leg Was Numb’
When one man spoke about the struggles of his former-marathoner wife after her recent diagnosis, Applegate responded: “Aaron, these first few months will be confusing. Please get a good neurologist and make sure she starts a treatment right away. It's imperative. That way, she will live a long life. Maybe no marathons for a minute. But it can be done. That's what I tell myself as I walk the stairs.”
In another post-Applegate admitted: “I'm not a strong woman. I'm a person with MS. I'm sad about it all the time. But I hope one day I will be a fighter.”
Applegate later shared product recommendations with some of her fellow MS warriors and their caretakers, from her favorite weighted blanket to the joys of using a Theragun as part of her treatment.
She admitted that the tingling in her legs and loud noises were the two things she still struggled with during her ongoing battle, which one well-wisher wrote that Applegate was sure to overcome just like she did in her breast cancer battle more than a decade ago.
Applegate responded: “How awesome that my cancer was the least of my worries.”
Related: Why Is Actress Selma Blair Getting Chemotherapy For Multiple Sclerosis?
What Is MS?
There is currently an estimated one million people battling MS in the United States.
The autoimmune disease is the result of the immune system mistakenly attacking healthy cells. More specifically, the immune system attacks cells that form the protective barrier which shields the nerves in a person’s spinal cord and brain stem.
Once that barrier has been damaged and weakened, individuals with MS struggle to send messages to the rest of the body. This impacts the body in myriad ways and varies significantly from person to person.
There are four types of MS:
Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS): This 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 ad body functions.
Secondary progressive MS (SPMS): This is an almost transitional form of MS that progresses from RRMS to PPMS.
MS Symptoms
MS can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms cover a broad spectrum and present very differently in those battling the disease.
They include:
- A numbness, tingling, or sudden weakness in the limbs that affects just one side of the body
- An electric-shock like sensation when moving the neck
- Tremors and small seizures
- A lack of coordination or unsteady gait due to weakened legs
- Partial or complete loss of vision in one eye
- Painful eye movements
- Double vision for prolonged periods
- Blurred vision
- Slurred speech and forgetting common words
- Fatigue
- Problems with bodily functions
- Loss of bladder control
- Inability to perform sexual functions
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