During the 1970s, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was pretty much the standard by which all other TV situation comedies were judged.
It had crisp writing, an excellent cast, and while I personally wasn't the biggest fan of the show, it demonstrated how TV sitcoms had changed from the days of "I Love Lucy."
One of the cast members of that show was Valerie Harper, a good looking lady who played Rhoda Morgenstern on the show, the perpetually without a man lady who finally found her man and some level of happiness.
Her character was so popular that it was spun off into the successful "Rhoda" series.
Anyway, with that etched into our minds forever, about a year ago or maybe a little more than that, we were hit with devastating news: Valerie Harper had a type of brain cancer that was going to kill her, maybe in as little as three months.
As celebrities do nowadays, she went on every TV talk show that existed and told everyone her story, and it really was heartbreaking.
It was like she was making amends to everyone in the TV universe before she was going to pass.
But somehow, miraculous things happened in the interim.
Leaving herself in the hands of her doctors, and using different therapies, Harper wasn't going as quickly as many doctors had thought she would.
All of a sudden, the three-month death march was extended.
She showed up on TV again, talking about her therapy, and looking to the future, which most of us thought maybe would stretch out for six months and that was it.
Incredibly, it stretched out a bit more.
She was on "Dancing With the Stars," showed herself to be somewhat fit even with the cancer, and again, continued to talk about her therapy.
And yesterday, depending on what show she was on and what article you read, she is either cancer-free or is in remission, still has the disease, but her prognosis is much better than it was.
Remember, this is a woman, who in her early 70s, was just supposed to live three months tops.
Now she is either cancer free or in some type of serious remission.
Astonishing, isn't it?
Evidently, if you can piece together the various things that were reported, she is going to have to be checked out the rest of her life, because this cancer can hide, but it can't be totally removed from one's body.
Right now, it appears to be taking a break, but Harper must stick with a strict regimen to prolong her life.
This is really incredible, a feel-good story that comes at the perfect time--Easter/Passover--to make anyone feel good about their own lives.
My aunt had a brain tumor--non-cancerous--several years ago. She was vibrant before this happened, and her recovery after surgery was slow, and she continues to recover, all these years later.
The tumor put her down, but not out. She fought, and still fights, and she is winning her battle, even though she has to fight every day.
I think it is the same thing with Harper. She is a fighter, and wasn't going to go down without a strong fight.
And she is winning.
Who knows what the story will be in six months, heck, even six weeks, but right now, she is a winner.
Good luck to her.
I am sure the power of positive thinking has to be part of it.
She said she was going to lick this thing, and she has done just that, at least right now.
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