Christina Applegate Had Her Ovaries And Fallopian Tubes Removed — And She’s Talking About It For An Important Reason
After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, the Golden-Globe nominated actress had a double mastectomy in an effort to prevent another occurrence.
Christina Applegate played the clueless Kelly Bundy on Married With Children, but in being an advocate for women's health, she has proven that she is anything but clueless.
After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, the Golden-Globe nominated actress had a double mastectomy in an effort to prevent another occurrence. She recently revealed on The Today Show that, because she is BCRA positive and a cousin died from ovarian cancer in 2008, she also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.
Opening up about her life now, Applegate said that it was a relief because it's one more thing off the table that she does not have to worry about. Having developed breast cancer at 35, she had a high risk of an ovarian cancer diagnosis at an early age. And Applegate had a message for other women who are BRCA positive:
"If you’re BRCA positive, it’s highly possible you’ll develop cancer in your lifetime. The first thing is to be really diligent about what you’re putting into your body, as far as what kind of food you’re eating. Organic is expensive. I get that. I don’t want to alienate anyone who can’t pay for that. But maybe skip your morning latte and get organic vegetables for the week. Try to stay away from the foods that are filled with chemicals. Be a little more diligent and carve out as much of the bad stuff that you can.
"The other big killer is stress. That’s a hard thing to say to people especially right now. We’re living in a bizarre time. We’re bombarded by what’s going on in our world. Breathe deeper. That’s a big one for me. I used to be a stressed out person. I’m not anymore. I try to find the lining in everything in life."
On top of caring for herself and her family, Applegate decided to help other women by founding Right Action for Women, which, according to its website, "provides assistance to women who are at increased risk for breast cancer and do not have insurance or the financial flexibility to cover the high costs associated with breast screenings." So far, Right Action for Women has helped hundreds of women afford MRI screenings, which just proves that Applegate has taken a terrifying ordeal and turned it into a positive movement.
To learn more, visit rightactionforwomen.org.
[Sources: Today and Cancer.gov]
About the Creator
Rachel Carrington
I'm an avid writer and reader. I've had over 53 novels published and over 2,000 articles. Here I review movies, TV series/episodes, books, and write about entertainment. www.rachelcarrington.com
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