Christina Applegate of “Married With Children” and more recently of “Dead To Me” fame announced that she has Multiple Sclerosis.
“Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey,” the 49 year-old actress wrote on Twitter. “But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a–hole blocks it.”
Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.
— christina applegate (@1capplegate) August 10, 2021
“As one of my friends that has MS said ‘we wake up and take the indicated action.’ And that’s what I do,” she later added. “So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo”
As one of my friends that has MS said “ we wake up and take the indicated action”. And that’s what I do. So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo
— christina applegate (@1capplegate) August 10, 2021
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society states that it is “an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.”
The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown, and there is no cure for it at this time.
The NMSS estimates that around one million people are currently living with the disease in the United States.
Actress Selma Blair also has MS and sent her support to Christina on Twitter.
Loving you always. Always here. As are our kids. Beating us up with love
— Selma Blair (@SelmaBlair) August 10, 2021
Related: Kathy Griffin Reveals She Has Lung Cancer And Last Year Got Addicted To Pills
Applegate’s Cancer Battle
Sadly, this is not the first time that Christina Applegate has had to battle a major disease. She was previously diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. She underwent a double mastectomy and was declared cancer-free soon after that.
Applegate referenced this experience on her Netflix television show “Dead To Me,” in which her character reveals that she got a double mastectomy preemptively after her mother died of breast cancer.
“It hasn’t really been discussed on shows before; I don’t think there’s a lot of characters out there with double mastectomies,” Applegate told USA Today in 2019.
“But I went through it, and it’s a horribly painful process – emotionally, spiritually, physically – and I never really talked about it,” she added. “I thought this was my chance to tell a little bit about me, but also all the women that have gone through that.”
Applegate’s Other Health Issues
She’s been open about her insomnia, too, which she says she had for about 20 years. Although, she did say it changed some after she had her daughter Sadie Grace. Her daughter is now 10 years old. People Magazine reported that Applegate also had her ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed preemptively in 2017 after learning that she carries the BRCA1 gene mutation, which puts her more at risk for developing cancer. The surgery immediately put her into menopause.
Applegate has previously talked about the responsibility she feels to her fans to be open about her health.
“If you do have a voice to do it, which we [as actors] are fortunate to have this platform to be like, ‘I am just like you, I can’t sleep, I feel like crap a lot of the time because of this, but I want you to feel okay with it and not feel shame about it and get information about it so that you can have a better quality of life,'” she said in 2018. “And same goes for my battle with cancer.”
Clearly, Christina Applegate has had more than her fair share of health struggles over the years. Hopefully the tenacity that has seen her overcome her previous health issues will serve her well in her journey with multiple sclerosis.
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