Charlie’s Angel star Cheryl Ladd has opened up on how her husband Brian Russell kept her going strong during her breast cancer journey.
Even when she lost her hair and eyelashes during chemotherapy and radiation – a temporary but distressing side effect of cancer treatment – he made her feel special, per People.
‘I looked like an alien. My husband would say, “But, honey, a beautiful alien,”‘ Ladd told the outlet.
The actress, 74, who reunited with her Charlie’s Angels stars for the show’s 50th anniversary this month, shared that it was her music producer spouse, 82, who pushed her to see a doctor after she detected a lump in her left breast three years ago.
‘He said, “Call the doctor. We’re going to deal with this right now.” He just about threw me in the car,’ Ladd remembered.
A biopsy soon revealed she had an aggressive form of breast cancer, and it would be a long, hard journey to recovery.
Charlie’s Angel star Cheryl Ladd (pictured April 6) has opened up on how her husband Brian Russell kept her going strong during her breast cancer journey
When she lost her hair and eyelashes during chemotherapy and radiation and felt she ‘looked like an alien,’ she said her husband reassured her, ‘But, honey, a beautiful alien’; the couple is pictured in 2014
Ladd said her husband of 45 years, who hails from Scotland and with whom she now lives near San Antonio, Texas, ‘was just unbelievable’ in his support.
Besides making her feel beautiful and loved, Russell kept her nourished even when she had zero interest in food.
‘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?”‘ she said.
‘He literally babied me along and kept me eating so I didn’t just get skinnier and skinnier and skinnier.
‘He kept me pretty close to my normal weight. He just cooked for me, encouraged me and hugged me. I’m telling you, I sure married the right guy,’ she added.
Ladd also had strong support from her daughter, Jordan Ladd, and stepdaughter, Lindsay Russell.
‘They would come and visit and encourage me. Both of them were so wonderful, caring, sweet and praying for me like crazy,’ she said.
Ladd first publicly spoke about her diagnosis and subsequent ordeal at the PaleyFest in Los Angeles on April 6.
The actress, 74, shared that it was her music producer spouse, 82, who pushed her to see a doctor after she detected a lump in her left breast three years ago
Besides making her feel beautiful and loved, Ladd’s Scotland-born husband kept her nourished when she had zero interest in food (pictured in September 2014)
Ladd first publicly spoke about her diagnosis and subsequent ordeal at the PaleyFest in Los Angeles on April where she was joined by her fellow Charlie’s Angels co-stars Kate Jackson, left, and Jaclyn Smith, center, who are also cancer survivors
‘Talk about a sisterhood. The fact that all three of us have had cancer is kind of strange, but all of us are doing great,’ Ladd said at the PaleyFest event
Appearing with her Charlie’s Angels co-stars Jaclyn Smith, 80, and Kate Jackson, 77, both of whom are breast cancer survivors, she shared how they comforted and reassured her.
‘Talk about a sisterhood. The fact that all three of us have had cancer is kind of strange, but all of us are doing great,’ Ladd noted at the event.
Jackson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and underwent treatment but the disease returned two years later and she underwent a partial mastectomy.
Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and has been cancer-free since undergoing a lumpectomy and radiation therapy.
Fellow Charlie’s Angels star Farrah Fawcett was also diagnosed with cancer in 2006, but she died three years three years later at the age of 62.
Smith, meanwhile, provided Ladd with a continuous supply of wigs from her own professional collection with Paula Young.
‘I had so many wigs,’ Ladd said. ‘Jaclyn would be like, “Oh! I have a new one. I’m going to send it to you. You want a short one first? Then [a longer one] as your hair grows out?” She was just amazing.’
During the PaleyFest discussion, Ladd branded her cancer journey a ‘humbling experience’ but insisted she was supported by a ‘wonderful’ team of doctors as well as her husband.
Ladd (pictured in March 2020) is now cancer-free, and told People she’s doing much better, ‘I feel like myself, which is such a gift’
‘I was bald. It was a humbling experience and yet I have a wonderful husband… he was there for me at every turn,’ she said. ‘Eventually I started to get little sprouts of hair. It was a long, long, hard road, but you just get on with it.’
Ladd is now cancer-free, and told People she’s doing much better.
‘I feel like myself, which is such a gift,’ she shared. ‘Between my husband and the Lord, we got through it. It was just a miracle, really.’
She’s staying on top of her check-ups and going in for routine mammograms every six months, adding, ‘The sooner you find it and get in there, the better chance you have of living and not losing your breast. If you feel anything – even the tiniest thing – go to the doctor right away.’
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