‘Married… with Children’ Star Christina Applegate, Who Is Living With Multiple Sclerosis, Says Actress Katie Sagal ‘Always’ Offered’ Her Stability— The Power of Support

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She continued, while getting emotional, “I needed that so badly in my life … a stable person. And you were that stability to me, always. I always knew that if I came to you or cried that you would comfort me. I’d feel safe.”

Sagel then replied, “It’s so interesting because I was so new to my own inner journey because I was new to my own recovery journey. But along with that, I was learning very rapidly how to be honest with myself and how important that is for all of us to be that way.

“And I did have that sense that there was nobody really for you to … I guess what I’m saying is I became very forthright with my journey, which I think opens the door for other people, i.e. you, Chrissy, to be forthright with yours. And as you’re saying I provided a safe space for you, you were also providing that for me.”

Sagel, who admitted she began using drugs and alcohol at age 15 but became sober before starring on the “Married… with Children,” continued, “I could relate to you. I could absolutely relate to the pieces of you.

“And so I wanna say that the safety you were feeling was also the umbrella of recovery. That’s kind of what you were feeling, because that was the umbrella around me.”

Applegate then praised Sagel for exuding confidence when they began working together.

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“I remember the first day I met you. You were wearing these jeans … the way you looked in these jeans, and this white T-shirt, that was tucked in and your body. Everything about you was cool,” Applegate added.

“I was like, she is f***ing cool and knows who she is and damn, I want to be her when I grow up.”

Sagel admitted she was simply “faking it until she made it,” but took one day at a time and “show up in small increments.”

As for Sagel’s struggle with substance abuse leading up to her time on the show, which she and Applegate acted on for 11 seasons, she explained, “I’m a person that for probably the first 30 years of my life, didn’t deal [with] s**t.

“I medicated myself to where I didn’t really deal with my emotion. My parents died, I had cancer in my 20s, I mean, a bunch of s**t happened, and I didn’t really deal with it. And then, you know, I stopped medicating myself, and now I have no choice but to deal with it.”

Commenting on how Applegate and Sigler are both dealing with MS, Sagel continued, “I’m sure as you deal with a life-threatening illness, which as an alcoholic, I deal with a life-threatening illness, it brings into the forefront of your brain your own mortality.

“So there’s a certain maturity that I’m sure having the illness that you girls both do that has forced you in probably some really great ways to, you know, like, ‘This is it, man. This is the moment, you know?'”

Sagal admitted thats how she lives her life, adding, “But in order to stay unafraid, to walk in faith, to be a person that can look at the dark sides and really process them, I’ve learned this way that I live my life, which I think that’s been the biggest inspiration.

“Because, you know, the brave part of living a sober life is that, you know, life’s f**ing terrifying. And you got to look at it. And what I have found around community around all that is I know lots of people that have walked through everything I’ve walked through. So, you know, the opposite of addiction is community.”

Power of Support

An MS, rare disease, or cancer diagnosis can be extremely stressful. One way SurvivorNet experts encourage patients to alleviate some of that stress by leaning on their support system.

A support system can be made up of loved ones like family and friends. It can also be comprised of strangers who have come together because of a shared cancer experience. Mental health professionals can also be critical parts of a support system.

“Some people don’t need to go outside of their family and friend’s circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet.

“But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it’s important to reach out to a mental health professional,” Dr. Plutchik added.

Dr. Plutchik also stressed it is important for people supporting cancer warriors to understand their emotions can vary day-to-day.

“People can have a range of emotions, they can include fear, anger, and these emotions tend to be fluid. They can recede and return based on where someone is in the process,” Dr. Plutchik said.

Applegate’s Multiple Sclerosis Journey

Christina Applegate has been living with multiple sclerosis since August 2021. The diagnosis came more than a decade after she dealt with breast cancer in 2008.

“With the disease of MS, it’s never a good day,” Applegate previously wrote on her Instagram. “Having MS f—ing sucks…You just have little s— days,” she said.

She explained how her symptoms are impacting her daily life, including everyday activities like taking showers, using stairs, and carrying things.

Applegate began experiencing symptoms of the condition long before she had answers. She actually said she felt off balance during a dance sequence that occurred way back in season one of her dark comedy “Dead to Me.” She later noticed her aptitude for tennis started to fail.

“I wish I had paid attention,” she previously told The New York Times. “But who was I to know?”

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It took several years of worsening tingling and numbness in her extremities before her diagnosis arrived while on set. This life-altering realization wouldn’t stop Applegate from finishing her portrayal of Jen Harding, but she did need a break. Production of the final season ceased for about five months as she began treatment.

“There was the sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better,’” Applegate said. “And there is no better. But it was good for me. I needed to process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.”

Applegate admits she’ll never fully “accept” her condition, but she did learn how to work with it. And she’s previously talked about how the show was a cathartic outlet and safe space.

“I had an obligation to Liz [Feldman] and to Linda [Cardellini], to our story,” she said of the show’s writer and her co-star respectively. “The powers that be were like, ‘Let’s just stop. We don’t need to finish it. Let’s put a few episodes together.’ I said, ‘No. We’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it on my terms.’”

Applegate wasn’t able to work as hard or as long or in the heat without her body giving out, but she found pride in her self-sufficiency. With the help of some adjustments to the schedule, she powered through. Nicole Vassell, a writer for The Independent, says other programs should learn from the way Applegate’s “physical changes [were] seamlessly incorporated into the show.”

“This is the first time anyone’s going to see me the way I am,” Applegate said. “I put on 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that.”

However, on an earlier “MeSsy” podcast episode, Applegate revealed she has since lost those 40 pounds naturally, without any anti-obesity drugs. She said, someone jokingly, that she lost that weight by dealing with stomach issues associated with the medicine she takes amid her MS battle.

Applegate’s Breast Cancer Journey

Christina Applegate’s breast cancer battle began in April 2008 at just 36 years old.

“I went through five weeks of work without telling anyone that this was going on in my life,” she said during a CNN interview. Applegate said she had dense breasts and would need more thorough examinations for her routine mammogram screenings.

“He suggested that I get an MRI,” the actress said. When Applegate underwent an MRI screening, something was off. “They found some funky things going on [in one breast],” she said.

A biopsy confirmed her diagnosis, but luckily, the cancer was caught early. Despite her prognosis, she was still very concerned with her diagnosis.

She then turned her worry into determination, and she focused her efforts on beating the cancer. She underwent a lumpectomy, which is a procedure that removes the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue.

For early-stage breast cancer, studies have shown that lumpectomy plus radiation is as effective a treatment in preventing breast cancer recurrence as mastectomy (the removal of the breast).

Applegate then underwent six weeks of radiation, using high-energy beams aimed at the cancer cells to kill them. During treatment, she learned she tested positive for the BRCA gene, increasing her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

“That sort of changed everything for me. Radiation was something temporary, and it wasn’t addressing the issue of this coming back or the chance of it coming back in my left breast. I sort of had to kind of weigh all my options at that point,” she explained.

The harmful variant of BRCA1 or BRCA2 is inherited from either or both of your parents. So, each offspring of a parent who carries the mutation has a 50% chance of inheriting it.

The actress’ doctor gave her treatment options, but she ultimately opted for a preventative double mastectomy, which removes both breasts to reduce cancer risk. When a woman undergoes a double mastectomy, it is a personal and emotional decision that impacts how they feel about themselves.

“It just seemed like, ‘I don’t want to have to deal with this again. I don’t want to keep putting that stuff in my body. I just want to be done with this,’ and I was just going to let them go,” she explained.

Understanding Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis causes the immune system to attack cells that form the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers in the spinal cord. The disruption leads to communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body.

Once the protective barrier is damaged, the spinal cord struggles to send messages to the arms, legs, and other parts of the body to function normally.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society outlines the different types of multiple sclerosis:

• 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 and body functions.
• Secondary progressive MS (SPMS): This is an almost transitional form of MS that progresses from RRMS to PPMS.

In addition to balance issues, numbness, and tingling in the limbs as Applegate experienced, other common MS symptoms include vision and bladder control problems. Mood changes and mental and physical fatigue are other symptoms people living with MS may experience according to the National Institute of Health.

Treating Multiple Sclerosis

There is no cure for MS, but MS warriors battling the disease do have methods to manage their symptoms.

Common tools MS patients use to improve their quality of life include wheelchairs, canes, leg braces and some medical treatments called disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).

A study in American Family Physician found DMTs “has been shown to slow disease progression and disability; options include injectable agents, infusions, and oral medications targeting different sites in the inflammatory pathway.”

While chemotherapy is widely known as a cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells, it is also effective at slowing down or stopping disease activity in MS. Applegate’s actress Selma Blair previously underwent chemotherapy as part of her treatment for MS.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you are diagnosed with MS or may be concerned you have the chronic disease due to symptoms you’re experiencing, consider asking your doctor the following questions.

• Although there’s no cure for MS, which treatment option to manage my symptoms do you recommend for me?
• Are there any potential side effects of MS treatment?
• What if the treatment to manage symptoms doesn’t work?
• Will exercise or therapy help my symptoms?
• Are there any MS support groups you recommend to help me cope?

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Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.