A Hollywood Love Story
- “Love Story” actor Ryan O’Neal battled two types of cancer during his remarkable film career. He was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and prostate cancer. He recently died of congestive heart failure in early December.
- O’Neal was buried next to his longtime lover and former “Charlie’s Angels” actress Farrah Fawcett, who also bravely battled cancer.
- Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006 and battled the cancer until 2009 at age 62. During her fight, she helped spread awareness about the disease and worked to offset the stigma surrounding it.
- O’Neal managed to reach remission amid his chronic myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer of the white blood cells. He later underwent cryotherapy, which freezes cancer cells and is most often used for early prostate cancer treatment.
- The human papillomavirus (HPV), is believed to cause most anal cancers, according to the CDC. “The vast majority of humans in the U.S., both men and women, will eventually get infected with human papillomavirus,” Dr. Allen Ho, a head and neck surgeon at Cedars-Sinai, told SurvivorNet.
A Hollywood love story comes full circle as actor Ryan O’Neal has been laid to rest next to his longtime lover and actress Farrah Fawcett. O’Neal was 82 when he died from congestive heart failure and was later buried in the same Los Angeles cemetery as the former “Charlie Angel” star.
Both O’Neal and Fawcett battled cancers during their lifetimes. O’Neal battled two types of cancer – chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and prostate. Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer and led a hard-fought battle that included offsetting the stigma surrounding anal cancer.
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Patrick also pointed out his father, Ryan, and Farrah’s special love for each other.
“Ryan never bragged. But he has bragging rights in Heaven. Especially when it comes to Farrah. Everyone had the poster; he had the real McCoy. And now they meet again. Farrah and Ryan. He has missed her terribly. What an embrace that must be. Together again,” Patrick wrote in his social media post.
Ryan played an influential role in Fawcett’s cancer journey shortly. In 2005, when the “Charlie’s Angels” star started experiencing symptoms, O’Neal was among those close to her urging her to see a doctor.
“Ryan said, ‘You’ve got to go to the doctor and get this checked out.’ So, she did. They did a colonoscopy, and that’s when they found it,” Fawcett’s friend Alana Stewart previously told Fox News.
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O’Neal’s Remarkable Journey
O’Neal had a fruitful film career. However, many years later, he faced tough challenges testing his mettle. His first bout with cancer came in 2001 when he was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myelogenous leukemia, is a type of cancer of the white blood cells. As the disease progresses, CML cells crowd out healthy cells and eventually build up and spill over into the blood. Although CML usually grows slowly, it can also turn into a faster-growing acute leukemia, which is more challenging to treat.
RELATED: Understanding the Key Differences Between Acute and Chronic Myeloid Leukemias
“It’s important for patients diagnosed with CML to understand that their prognosis is quite favorable,” Dr. Jay Yang, hematologist, medical oncologist, and leader of the Hematology-Oncology Multidisciplinary Team at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, tells SurvivorNet. “With modern treatments, most patients will go on to live healthy and productive lives with a normal life expectancy.”
O’Neal’s spokeswoman did not say what kind of treatment he underwent, according to ABC News, but he reached remission for the disease.
WATCH: Diagnosing CML
Symptoms for CML are often vague, as many other ailments can cause them. However, common symptoms include:
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Night sweats
- Weight loss
- Fever
- Bone pain
- An enlarged spleen (which may be felt as a mass under the left side of the ribcage)
- Pain or a sense of fullness in the stomach
- Feeling full after a small amount of food
O’Neal was also diagnosed with stage 2b prostate cancer, meaning the cancer has not yet spread outside the prostate. Your doctor might feel it with a digital rectal exam (DRE) or see it with imaging. The Gleason score is a 7, and at this stage, the PSA level is less than 20.
One of the tests is the PSA test, a simple blood test that screens for prostate cancer. It looks for more significant amounts of protein-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. An elevated PSA test does not always mean you have prostate cancer. It could also reflect that your prostate is enlarged, which is common, or it could signal an infection or inflammation.
Your doctor may also conduct a digital rectal exam (DRE) to check your prostate for lumps.
Depending on the results of these tests, imaging scans and a biopsy may be ordered.
After tests are conducted, your doctor analyzes the results to give you a Gleason Score. This score ranges from 6 to 10. The higher the score, the more aggressive the cancer.
This score, along with your other test results, helps doctors determine if your cancer is “low risk,” “intermediate risk,” or “high risk.”
After testing and establishing your risk, your doctor will discuss possible treatment options. Treatment ranges from “active surveillance,” usually for men with low-risk prostate cancer, which again involves regular testing every six months to monitor the prostate and check for any progression of the disease.
More aggressive treatment options include surgery and radiation therapy. O’Neal underwent cryotherapy to treat his prostate cancer because he sought fewer side effects.
Cryotherapy is the freezing of cancer cells, most often used for early prostate cancer. This form of treatment is often thought to have fewer side effects. However, Dr. James Brooks, Chief of Urologic Oncology at Stanford Medicine, says this treatment still has side effects, such as dead tissue in the prostate.
“I’ve had men come in with severe infections of the dead tissue in their prostate that are absolutely miserable,” Dr. Brooks tells SurvivorNet.
“The side effects…they fit the same spectrum of what you see with surgery and radiation therapy. So, it’s sometimes sold as sort of a free ride so that you get fewer side effects from it [but] that’s not the case,” Dr. Brooks adds.
According to the National Cancer Institute, side effects of cryotherapy amid prostate cancer may include problems with urine flow, incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and damage to the rectum.
Fawcett’s Tough but Inspirational Cancer Journey
Fawcett became a cultural icon in the 1970s after portraying one of the beautiful and strong detectives, Jill Munroe, in “Charlie’s Angels.” Fawcett also acted in films like “Logan’s Run” and “Saturn 3” during her four decades in Hollywood.
Farrah Fawcett’s cancer journey began in 2005 while caring for her elderly mother.
“She started having a few symptoms while she was there [helping her mother in Texas] but ignored them,” Stewart said.
Symptoms associated with anal cancer may include:
- Bleeding from the rectum
- Pain around the anus
- A mass or growth in the anal canal
- Anal itching
These symptoms do not always mean you have anal cancer if you experience them. Other benign (noncancerous) ailments, including hemorrhoids, anal fissures, or anal warts, may also produce these symptoms. However, you should consult your doctor if you experience these symptoms consistently.
The beloved actress was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006.
According to NBC’s “Today,” Fawcett was “originally treated at The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with chemotherapy and radiation, not surgery.” She was declared cancer-free in 2007 at the age of 60.
“We all celebrated,” Stewart explained after learning Fawcett overcame her first round of anal cancer. However, the cancer returned by the spring of 2007.
“It metastasized to her liver,” Fawcett’s former producer Craig Nevius told “Today” at the time.
“With Farrah, hers was already stage 4,” Stewart added.
Fawcett inspired many people close to her while she battled cancer.
“She kept going when a lot of people wouldn’t. She went through a lot of painful procedures. She went through it all with such amazing grace, dignity, and courage,” Stewart described.
She continued to fight until 2009, when her brave and resilient cancer battle came to an end, shattering many of her loved ones.
Since Fawcett’s passing, the Farrah Fawcett Foundation and Stewart have been spreading more awareness for anal cancer, which tends to bring with it a stigma that discourages people from talking about it openly.
HPV and Its Link to Anal Cancer
The human papillomavirus (HPV), which is believed to cause most anal cancers, according to the CDC.
“The vast majority of humans in the U.S., both men and women, will eventually get infected with human papillomavirus,” Dr. Allen Ho, a head and neck surgeon at Cedars-Sinai, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
Most people with the infection are unaware they have it and never develop symptoms or health problems. However, it’s important to note the virus can manifest as warts on your mouth or genitals.
People should also be aware that HPV puts both men and women at risk of developing several cancers, such as oral cancer and cancers of the cervix, vagina, penis, anus, and throat.
Thankfully, there are ways to protect people from getting HPV, helping to prevent any cancers linked with the disease.
“We have a safe and effective vaccine to prevent HPV-related cancer. It is widely available, and costs are typically covered by private or public insurance,” says Dr. Susan Vadaparampil, the associate center director of community outreach, engagement, and equity at Moffitt Cancer Center.
The HPV vaccine is recommended for all male and female preteens 11 to 12 years old in two doses given between six and 12 months, according to the CDC. The series of shots can also start as young as nine.
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