Sad news today. Charlotte Rae -- Mrs. Edna Garrett from "
Different Strokes" and "
The Facts of Life" -- revealed to
PEOPLE that
she has been diagnosed with bone cancer. The 91-year-old actor revealed that she was diagnosed and successfully treated for pancreatic cancer seven years ago:
"About seven years ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer -- which is a miracle that they found it because usually it's too late. My mother, sister and my uncle died of pancreatic cancer. After six months of chemotherapy, I was cancer-free. I lost my hair, but I had beautiful wigs. Nobody even knew."
Rae is now trying to decide
whether or not to go through with treatment:
The Facts of Life star, who celebrated her 91st birthday on Saturday with family and friends, was supposed to start treatment on Thursday, but decided to cancel. "I wanted to think about it first," she says. "I think I'm going to go for it. The side effects were not too bad when I did it originally. I've had a great life, but I have so many wonderful things happening. I'd like to choose life. I'm grateful for the life I've already had."
Longtime readers of this blog know that I've been a huge fan of "
The Facts of Life" for most of my life. This is very sad indeed.
