Dana Reeve Has Died

[MrsSpringsteen]

msnbc.com has a breaking news headline that she has died of lung cancer. I thought she would make it.

She was quite a woman

Reeve died Monday of lung cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center, said Sean Dougherty, a spokesman for the foundation.

“We are extremely saddened by the death of Dana Reeve, whose grace and courage under the most difficult of circumstances was a source of comfort and inspiration to all of us,” Kathy Lewis, president and CEO of the foundation, said in a statement.
Reeve won worldwide admiration for her support of her husband, the one-time Hollywood “Superman” turned activist for spinal cord research after a horse-riding accident in 1996.

She served as chairwoman of the Christopher Reeve Foundation and founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center.

Christopher Reeve died in 2004. In August, Dana Reeve announced she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. She said she had never smoked.

'A man who never gave up'
She said in November that said she was able to keep her spirits up because she “had a great model. ... I was married to a man who never gave up.”

Reeve lived in Westchester County, near New York, with the couple’s teenage son, Will. She has appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway and regional stages and on the TV shows “Law & Order,” “Oz,” and “All My Children.”

“Dana will always be remembered for her passion, strength and ceaseless courage that became her hallmark,” Lewis said. “Along with her husband, Christopher, she faced adversity with grace and determination, bringing hope to millions around the world.”

She is survived by her father, Dr. Charles Morosini; sisters Deborah Morosini and Adrienne Morosini Heilman; two stepchildren, Matthew and Alexandra; and her son.

 

[SunBloc]

That is a tragedy! She was at an appearance not too long ago and looked great. My thoughts and prayers are with her son and step children.

 

[JCOSTER]

Having 2 sons I couldn't even imagine leaving them....heartbreaking news....Many prayers to her son

 

[one4u2]

That is absolutely horrible

 

[U2Girl1978]

That's so sad.

 

[Hewson]

Wow, sad news.
Never smoked but got lung cancer, thats a raw deal.

 

[onebloodonelife]

Heard this on GMA this morning...it's so sad for her family. At least she's with Chris now.

 

[Doozer61]

 

[BluRmGrl]

My God - I'd never heard the announcement that she had lung cancer! What a tragedy... my heart goes out to her sons & remaining family. Christopher Reeve's handling of his condition truly made him Superman... there's no doubt that Dana was Superwoman. RIP.

 

[Justin24]

RIP Dana Reeve may you and your husband live in eternal happiness and peace.

 

[AchtungBono]

She was truly one of the most courageous women I've heard of.

R.I.P Dana.....its time for the angel on earth to take her place in heaven....

+++++++

The following is from the CNN website:


WHITE PLAINS, New York(AP) -- Dana Reeve, who won worldwide admiration for her devotion to her "Superman" husband, Christopher Reeve, through his decade of near-total paralysis, has died of lung cancer at the age of 44.

Reeve, a singer-actress who gave up some of her own career to be one of the nation's best-known caregivers, died late Monday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center, said Kathy Lewis, president of the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

Reeve had succeeded her husband as chair of the foundation, which funded research into spinal-cord paralysis cures. She announced in August that, while she wasn't a smoker, she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. (Watch CNN announces Reeve's death -- 1:49)

Lewis visited Reeve in the hospital Friday and said Reeve was "tired but with her typical sense of humor and smile, always trying to make other people feel good, her characteristic personality."

"She was a woman with an incredible heart who really put herself out there to help people with disabilities and especially those who are caregivers -- something she knew a lot about," Lewis said.

Four months ago, at a fundraising gala for the foundation, Reeve looked healthy in a long, formal gown and said she was responding well to treatment and her tumor was shrinking.

"I'm beating the odds and defying every statistic the doctors can throw at me," Reeve said then. "My prognosis looks better all the time."

Asked how she kept her spirits up, Reeve said she "had a great model."

"I was married to a man who never gave up," she said.

Christopher Reeve, star of Hollywood's "Superman" movies, became an activist for spinal cord research after a horse-riding accident paralyzed him in 1995. He died October 10, 2004.

Dana Reeve was a constant companion and supporter of her husband during his long ordeal and his work for a cure for spinal cord injuries.

The couple had a 13-year-old son, Will, and Dana Reeve had two grown stepchildren, Matthew and Alexandra.

Reeve, who lived in Pound Ridge, had appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway and regional stages and on the TV shows "Law & Order," "Oz," and "All My Children."

She was on the board of the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, where she met Christopher Reeve doing summer theater, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

A year ago, she won a Mother of the Year award from the American Cancer Society. A society vice president, Dr. Michael Thun, said Reeve "has shown strength and courage in the face of tremendous adversity." Doctors say 1 in 5 women diagnosed with the disease never lit a cigarette.

In addition to her son and step-children, she is survived by her father, Dr. Charles Morosini, and sisters Deborah Morosini and Adrienne Morosini Heilman.

No funeral plans were announced. The family said donations could be made in Dana Reeve's memory to the Christopher Reeve Foundation in Short Hills, New Jersey.

 

[kellyahern]

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Their son Will is only 13

 

[Thora]

I heard this on the radio as I was driving into work. How incredibly tragic. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. She was a truly wonderful woman.

 

[indra]

Very sad news.

 

[Lila64]

just woke up and this was the first thing I saw on the internet. I'm shocked and crying. Life just isn't fair sometimes...

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

some info on lung cancer, more female than male non-smokers get it

MSNBC

NEW YORK - The death of singer-actress Dana Reeve, the widow of actor Christopher Reeve, of lung cancer underscores the risks faced by women, even those who don't smoke.

While annual cancer deaths are declining in the United States, lung cancer remains stubbornly lethal, claiming over 158,000 American lives in 2004, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Lung cancer is seen as a disease of older, male smokers, but, at 44, Reeve was at least 20 years younger than the typical victim. In fact, lung cancer is becoming a big problem for women, experts say. NBC chief science correspondent Robert Bazell discusses lung cancer's risks for women and non-smokers.

Q. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancer, but experts estimate that 10 percent of cases happen to people who have never smoked, especially women. From what we understand Dana Reeve didn’t smoke. Is lung cancer different in women?
A. In men, 90 percent who get lung cancer are smokers or former smokers and in women, it’s 80 percent.

What’s interesting about lung cancer is there has been increasing research in recent years that cigarette smoke affects men and women differently, both in terms of how easily they get it from smoking and the severity of the disease. No one knows how to account for those differences. There have been several studies on things like brain [susceptibility to] nicotine and there are definitely different patterns in men and women. But it hasn’t been put together in some synthesis of understanding. There are clearly differences in the brains of men and women and there are differences in the response to cigarette smoking.

Smoking among men really shot up in the 1970s and 1980s and then leveled off and has really gone down in response to smoking campaigns. Women’s smoking rates have not gone down as much and neither have the lung cancer rates. The numbers of men and women who are getting lung cancer are getting very close.

Q. We hear about the risks of second-hand smoke. Is that a possibility?
A. Even when we have a situation like Dana Reeve where she didn’t smoke, the question is how much could have been second-hand smoke. She apparently one time worked as a singer in clubs where she was exposed to a lot of second-hand smoke. That may have been a factor, you never really know. You’ll never know for an individual case whether it was second-hand smoke or some genetic abnormality this person had.

Q. Does lung cancer run in families?
A. There are genetic cases where people are predisposed to lung cancer and don’t need to be exposed to cigarette smoke at all. Those cases are a small percentage of lung cancer.

Q. Dana Reeve was reportedly asymptomatic. People often get diagnosed even before they have symptoms. Does early diagnosis make a difference?
A. Lung cancer is usually diagnosed at a point where it’s far too late. The death rate from lung cancer is very high. In 2003, 91,000 men were diagnosed and 88,000 died. For women, 80,000 diagnosed and 68,000 died. Those are very high numbers for any cancer.

There’s the whole argument whether the fast CT scan should be given to people—especially if they’re at risk because they were smokers or maybe there is lung cancer in the family—and whether that’s going to save lives. There’s a huge study under way to determine that. [A CT scan, also called a spiral or helical CT scan, is a special X-ray that detects lung abnormalities and tumors at a very early stage. Some doctors argue that "false positives" from the test can lead to unnecessary biopsies and potentially risky surgeries.]

It's the argument you have with any cancer test — you find a lot of stuff and you cut it out, but does it really make any difference in the death rate?

 

[tiny dancer]

I just heard about this on my way home from a doctor's visit. I feel so very sad.

 

[Carek1230]

This is genuinely sad news. I just don't understand why someone who doesn't smoke would have lung cancer.

 

[angel_of_L.A.]

 

[Achtung_Bebe]

I just saw this news when I got home from class I don't understand why she would have lung cancer, either. I feel very sad for her son.

 

[Golightly Grrl]

Such sad news. Dana Reeve was truly a lovely woman-both inside and out.

 

[shari schultz]

 

[~LadyLemon~]

That's so awful.

 

[anitram]

That's almost an incomprehensible amount of bad luck in just one family. How terrible for the son at such a young age as well.

 

[Diane L]

I was so sad to hear this, I cried. My heart goes out to her son.

 

[Carek1230]

Dana doesn't deserve this. I cried when I heard them talking about this on the news. My heart wrenches for the son, poor child to have lost BOTH parents! Tragic sadness.

 

[Lila64]

and Dana's Mom passed away shortly after Chris did
I watched some of Larry King Tuesday evening, and some of the entertainment shows. I went thru many of these

 

[Carek1230]

Pass me the tissues, Lila....I'll share the box with you. It is all over the TV this sad news of Dana's death. It adds to an otherwise difficult and stressful week (except for thinking a month from today is U2 in Hawaii and tix arrived finally!)