Cheryl Ladd, beloved for her iconic role on Charlie’s Angels, has shared some of the intimate moments of her cancer journey and how husband, Brian Russell supported her.
Three years ago, the actress discovered a lump in her left breast. But it was her husband that pushed her to immediately visit the doctor.
“He said, ‘Call the doctor. We’re going to deal with this right now,'” Cheryl confessed to People. “He just about threw me in the car.”
Following the biopsy, it was discovered Cheryl had a highly aggressive form of breast cancer and needed to begin oral chemotherapy the next day.
It would be a long road for Cheryl. As the treatment progressed which also included radiation, the 74-year-old began to lose her hair and eyelashes.
“I looked like an alien. My husband would say, ‘But, honey, a beautiful alien,’” she said.
“He was so kind, and sometimes I didn’t have any kind of appetite, so he’d say, ‘How about I make you just a little tomato soup? Could you eat a little orange?’
“He literally babied me along and kept me eating so I didn’t just get skinnier and skinnier and skinnier… he just cooked for me, encouraged me and hugged me. I’m telling you, I sure married the right guy.”
Cheryl married Brian, a music producer and writer, in January 1981 after meeting through their shared involvement in the music industry. While they didn’t have any biological children together, Cheryl does have a daughter with her ex-husband, David Ladd.
Brian does, however, have his own daughter, Lindsay Walker.
Their daughters and Brian were a huge support during this lengthy battle for Cheryl.
“They would come and visit and encourage me,” she said. “Both of them were so wonderful, caring, sweet and praying for me like crazy.”
Cheryl wasn’t completely new to the trials of breast cancer given her Charlie’s Angels co-stars Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson were both diagnosed with the illness.
“The fact that all three of us have had cancer is kind of strange, but all of us are doing great,” Cheryl added.
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