Christopher Reeve's Widow Dies at age 44 - Page 3

spinmonkey · March 7th, 2006, 05:10 PM

I am totally shocked by this news. How devastating. My prayers are with her son.

lalkinds · March 7th, 2006, 05:23 PM

I think something like 1 in 5 people who get lung cancer never touched a cigarette a day in their lives. How horrible, their poor son. I lost my father around that age and I cannot fathom the idea of losing a mother shortly after...he is going to grow up to be a very strong person.

HWBL · March 7th, 2006, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiki

I had no idea she was so close to death. At least now she and her man are together again.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=1697073
She had one of her last public appearances for their foundation in November of 2005, and sang on January 2006! (see pictures below)

Link to her last interview (first link):
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/...tab-web-t&c=av

Cheri · March 7th, 2006, 06:28 PM

Absolutley hearbreaking. I found out at work, and was just utterly shocked. I don't understand why these poor people had to go though all this. Their poor son Will is just 13 years old, and has lost both parents in two years.

misskris · March 7th, 2006, 07:08 PM

wow i just watched her last interview and she is so incredibly full of humility. it is incredible that she could keep giving right up until her death. her poor family, my prayers are with the family and their son.

Saery · March 7th, 2006, 07:57 PM

My heart just breaks for her son. I thought she was doing really well. Unfortunately, certain strains of lung cancer may spread to the brain and there's very little that treatment can do. I wonder if that's what happened here. So sad.

gonflable · March 7th, 2006, 10:48 PM

That's so sad

I hope her son has lots of loving people around him to help him cope with this

A*O · March 7th, 2006, 11:26 PM

They are speculating in the press here that she may have developed lung cancer after many years of singing in smokey nightclubs, etc. There was a famous and very popular UK entertainer called Roy Castle, a non-smoker, who died from lung cancer and he fought long and hard to prove that he contracted it from working in smokey clubs. The famous 'second hand smoke' debate. The tobacco companies fought tooth and nail to prove that second hand smoke is not harmful and I can't actually remember the outcome. But Roy Castle did make the general public aware of the issue.

chatterweb · March 8th, 2006, 12:39 AM

I am not really religious, but believe she was taken early to be reunited with her soulmate, Christopher Reeves.

pacific breeze · March 8th, 2006, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A*O

They are speculating in the press here that she may have developed lung cancer after many years of singing in smokey nightclubs, etc. There was a famous and very popular UK entertainer called Roy Castle, a non-smoker, who died from lung cancer and he fought long and hard to prove that he contracted it from working in smokey clubs. The famous 'second hand smoke' debate. The tobacco companies fought tooth and nail to prove that second hand smoke is not harmful and I can't actually remember the outcome. But Roy Castle did make the general public aware of the issue.

I believe there was a successful case in Ontario of a woman suing. She had worked as a waitress in a bar/restaurant for more than 20 years, never smoked, and she developed lung cancer. Smoking is not allowed virtually anywhere indoors in Canada now -- except for Quebec, of course.

moomies · March 8th, 2006, 12:56 AM

I heard on the news that she did "smoke like a chimney" at one point in her life... Don't know if it's true but that's what they were saying on TV.

chatterweb · March 8th, 2006, 01:14 AM

I feel the two are reunited now, and their son has enough money to be set for
life...minus 2 great parents, but, he will keep their legacy going...

Sojiita · March 8th, 2006, 01:28 AM

This is really a tragedy. I especially cringe when someone dies of lung cancer. It has got to be about the deadliest cancer out there. And it spreads throughout the body and chemo can work, but once it is in the brain the blood/brain barrier keeps the chemo from working there and all that is left is radiation or surgery-neither of which really helps for very long. Some people can respond amzingly well to chemo for a while(like my partner) but then, inevitably there is a steep decline. Of all the time I spent in clinics and hospitals with people getting treatment for lung cancer the longest anyone survived that I talked to was 2 years and a few months(And she was horribly scarred facially from the radiation treatments). There is a surprising number of lung cancer patients who have not smoked-many of them here in the US get if from radon gas and second hand smoke. Also I suspect there is a large genetic component, or some kind of inherent susceptibility in some people. This would explain why some people smoke like chimneys and never get it, and others have not smoked very much or for a very long time(or not at all) and get it. Horrible thing for the child-I hope he has alot of love and support around him.

Karizma · March 8th, 2006, 01:50 AM

I didnt even know she had cancer due to passive-smoking???

I dont get why govs still legalize cigarettes? they should ban them immeditaley.

PrettyGirl · March 8th, 2006, 02:36 AM

My father just died of lung cancer 3 months ago. He was not a smoker. He did not hang out in nightclubs nor in places where there was a lot of smoke. His doctor's suspect his cancer was a result of asbestos exposure he received from Navy ships back in the 1960's. He was retired Navy and worked on a ship for 3 yrs from 1967-1970. That we know of, 2 other men he worked on the ship with also contracted lung cancer. My father was only 58 yrs old when he died.

My father's doctor's told us that asbestos is all around us. In schools, buildings, our homes, etc...and they've seen a steady rise in lung cancers and fully expect the numbers to rise. This particular doctor told me personally that they're seeing a lot more lung cancers in non-smoking women. This may be because they've spent time around people who smoked or possibly from being married or dating men who worked around asbestos and then these men would come home and bring these 'fibers' back home on their clothes. These toxic substances can stay dormant in the lungs for 20 or 30 yrs and then turn cancerous years and years later. My father was speaking up to 2 days before he died. His cancer never went to his brain or spread to other organs. That's why it does not surprise me that Dana Reeve appeared well up until her last days. They usually do appear fine, they just sleep a lot because theyr'e given so much morphine to alleviate pain, discomfort and for some reason the morphine helps them breathe better.

I wonder if Dana Reeve's cancer was a result of environmental factors. I wonder where she grew up and where she lived or worked prior to marrying Christopher Reeve. She could've been exposed to toxic substances decades ago.

By the way, my father was diagnosed in 1999. He lived with it for 6 years. He defied the odds for a long, long time.