Coping With Loss
- Actor Pierce Brosnan, who lost his first wife and daughter to ovarian cancer, is enjoying life with his second wife, actress and documentary filmmaker Keely Shaye Smith, who reportedly lost approximately 100lbs.
- We’re glad to see Brosnan and his wife thriving in their long-lasting relationship, which reminds us of the “James Bond” actor’s resilience after he lost his loved ones to ovarian cancer, a disease which is often harder to catch in its early stages because of its subtle symptoms.
- Brosnan has also embraced his wife’s beauty no matter what weight she has been throughout the years. His message of appreciating your body no matter what it looks like is a powerful one, and it’s a message that can likely resonate with many cancer survivors out there who’ve struggled with body image after treatment.
- “Body image is both the mental picture that you have of your body and the way you feel about your body when you look in a mirror,” Dr. Marianna Strongin, a New York-based licensed clinical psychologist, tells SurvivorNet.
- “As you allow yourself to spend more time looking at all of you, you will begin having a new relationship with your body,” Strongin suggests.
According to the Daily Mail, Brosnan’s second wife dressed to impress in a black, lace mini dress during a “MobLand” premiere event on March 31 at the SVA Theater.
Read MoreAs for her most recent weight loss, it’s unclear how Keeley lost the weight, but we’re happy to see her looking happy and healthy and sticking with her love Brosnan.
It’s also important to note that carrying excess weight can lead to chronic inflammation and hormonal changes that promote the growth of certain cancers. Therefore, weight loss — through lifestyle adjustments, surgery, or medications — might help reduce the likelihood of developing these cancers over time.
The World Health Organization and other major health agencies have identified obesity as a risk factor for multiple cancers, including breast (in postmenopausal women), colorectal, liver, and pancreatic cancer, among others. Additionally, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) points to 13 “obesity-related cancers,” covering a wide range of body systems.
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Brosnan married his second wife in 2001 and share two sons, Dylan and Paris, together, while the 71-year-old actor also has two sons and a daughter, whom he shares with his late wife.
To honor the many years Brosnan and Keeley have been together, she shared a sweet throwback post on Instagram this week to commemorate the year they met.
She captioned the post, “April 26,1995–Our first red carpet appearance in London. Still stepping out 31 years later.
“Happy Anniversary my love! 4-8-94 was my lucky day.”
The post featured a carousel of photos, from earlier in their relationship and some more recent. It prompted fans to praised them as one of their “favorite couples,” with one commenting, “You are so beautiful inside and out.”
Another fan commented, “The power couple. Here’s to many more red carpet moments together.”
A third fan wrote, “The reason women love Pierce is because one can see how much he loves and treasures his Keeley. And they love Keely because she’s a great example of the look of one who is treasured. Absolutely gorgeous couple.”
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As for what’s kept their love long-lasting, Brosnan said in an earlier interview with Fox News Digital, “We like each other a lot. We love each other a lot.
“Watching someone grow up with you and grow old with you is a very spiritual journey. To watch each other change… whatever it may be, the hair, the waist. But it’s the love in the heart.”
Expert Resources On Body Positivity
We also love how Keeley has been an incredible support system to Brosnan in the wake of his loved ones’ passings from cancer.
“Keely has always been kind and compassionate and encouraged me to mourn Cassie. … I suppose Keely is my North Star, always looking out for me,” Brosnan told the Irish Central in an earlier interview.
Losing Loved Ones To Ovarian Cancer
In 2013, Brosnan lost his daughter, Charlotte, after a battle with ovarian cancer.
The same disease also impacted his first wife, Cassandra Smith, who was diagnosed in 1991 and died a few years later following a tough battle with the disease. Cassandra’s mother also died of ovarian cancer.
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“From day one, we really had a fight on our hands,” Brosnan said of Cassandra’s disease during a 1992 interview with People Weekly.
“This wasn’t a shadow or a small tumor this had invaded Cassie’s being,” he added.
Cassandra underwent eight surgeries and a year and a half of chemo for treatment.
“I never asked Cassie if she was scared. I regret that. I didn’t want to ask because she had so much fight,” Brosnan explained.
However, Brosnan admitted there were times she told him, “I need you,” and those moments “cut like a knife.”
Towards the end of Cassandra’s cancer journey, Brosnan said, “She was comforting me. She said, ‘Please, darling, don’t worry. It’s just a life winding down…up until then, there was always something, some new treatment. But then the options got fewer and fewer.”
Coping With Loss
For anyone who has lost a loved one, like Brosnan has, SurvivorNet wants you to know that grief may look different for everyone.
The stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These labels help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. These stages can also occur in any order.
The time it takes to navigate these stages can also vary, so giving yourself grace and patience while navigating your feelings is important.
“It often gets better over time, but on certain days, it can look like depression, and on other days, people look perfectly normal and can function,” Dr. Scott Irwin, a board-certified psychiatrist and Director of Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
Dr. Irwin added that grieving people are coming to terms with “the change in their life; the future they had imagined is now different.”
Obesity & Cancer Risk
It’s important to understand that obesity increases an individual’s risk of developing a range of dangerous health conditions, including several types of cancer. In addition to increasing the likelihood of developing certain cancers, obesity is associated with worse treatment outcomes.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Stephen Freedland of Cedars Sinai Medical Center said, “Some of the best data we have is that obesity increases the risk of not just getting prostate cancer, but actually dying from prostate cancer. Obese men are 35 percent more likely to die from prostate cancer.”
RELATED: The Link Between Obesity and Prostate Cancer
While obesity or a person’s high weight will not always cause them to develop cancer, other conditions associated obesity, like diabetes and heart disease, can lead to complications from cancer treatment if a person already has cancer. In addition, these conditions can sometimes prevent patients from receiving the recommended first-line therapies, as well as increase a patient’s risk of undergoing surgery.
Dr. Andrea Tufano-Sugarman of NYU Langone Health explained to SurvivorNet the benefits of losing weight.
“While all cancers cannot be prevented,” she said, “losing weight is a great way to reduce one’s risk.”
Dr. Tufano-Sugarman said that this is especially true for women; they lower their risk of developing breast cancer and endometrial cancer when they lose weight and keep it of.
How Can Diet Affect My Cancer Risk?
Even without losing weight, adopting a more nutritious diet can help.
“Food choices, independent of weight loss, may also help to reduce risk,” Dr. Tufano-Sugarman said. “Research has shown that the Mediterranean diet (rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, fish and olive oil) is associated with a decreased risk of cancer. Whereas diets rich in red meat may be associated with an increased risk of colorectal and prostate cancer.”
Striving For a Healthier Lifestyle
People, including those diagnosed with cancer, should strive for a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining a proper diet filled with fruits and vegetables and exercising – even minimally – can benefit overall health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, “Being overweight or having obesity are linked with a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer.”
Body weight that exceeds what the body mass index (BMI) deems appropriate for your weight and height can help determine body fat content. Although your BMI can help you learn if you are at a healthy weight, underweight, overweight, or obese, other factors may contribute to your overall health.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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