Actress Suzanne Somers, the "Three's Company" comedy icon who revealed Monday that her breast cancer has returned, said she won't let "this insidious disease control me."
Somers, 76, a longtime health advocate, was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 50s, skin cancer in her 30s, two bouts of hyperplasia in her 20s, and had a hysterectomy years ago, her husband, producer Alan Hamel, told the New York Post. Hamel, 87, shared the news after fans noticed that Somers had not appeared on her popular Facebook Live show for a while.
"I have been living with cancer since my 20s. And every time that little [expletive] pops up, I continue to bat it back," Somers said Monday in a statement shared with "Entertainment Tonight." "I do my best not to let this insidious disease control me.
"It's a recurrence of my breast cancer. Like any cancer patient, when you get that dreaded, 'It's back' you get a pit in your stomach. Then I put on my battle gear and go to war. This is familiar battleground for me and I'm very tough."
Somers made her fame by playing Chrissy Snow, a somewhat clueless blond, for five seasons on "Three's Company," a hit sitcom with John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. It ran from 1977 to 1984 and chronicles the misadventures of two women living with a man who pretends to be gay in a California apartment.
"My cancer is a disease that affected my whole family and once it hit me in my 20s, Alan and I got even closer and every moment of every day was precious," Somers said. "We have not spent even one day apart in over 42 years. That's the big upside of my cancer."
Somers said she credits her "unbelievably supportive" family and her extremely healthy lifestyle as the reason she hasn't succumbed to the disease.
"My doctors said that if I didn't lead a chemical free life, supported by bio-identical hormones, I would not likely be here today," she said. "I am so grateful to all my fans for all the loving wishes. That means so much to me. God Bless America."
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