Christina Applegate in Her Most Important Role

Aside from being my favorite character on the long-running TV comedy, Married With Children (probably having a lot to do with her looking hot and behaving like a complete slut, but she was an excellent actor as well), Christina Applegate has had a better-than-average career as a performer. I especially liked her as the co-anchor (and co-star) in the excellent movie, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, also starring Will Farrell.

In 2008, Christina Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer. They only found cancer in one of her breasts, but, in a matter of weeks, she elected to have a double mastectomy. And, while that may have sounded like a radical decision, she is cancer-free today. Later, she would explain she went for the more thorough option because her mother was a breast cancer survivor, and other relatives had had difficulties with cancer.

The conventional wisdom regarding breast cancer seems to be that it is best to start getting mammograms starting at the age of forty. Ms. Applegate was 36 when she learned she had the disease, through a mammogram. The point she has wanted to stress, for younger women is, if cancer runs in your family, and, if you don't feel altogether right, don't be bound by convention. Get yourself checked.

While she has been carrying on with her career, Christina Applegate has found the time to do her bit in the fight against the dreaded disease. She has resumed her role as a spokesperson for Lee National Denim Day, which she discussed in detail in this TV interview. The event has raised millions for breast cancer research, five dollars at a time.

It should be noted that Ms. Applegate's efforts for this cause were not simply the result of some newly-found benevolence, caused by her own brush with breast cancer. She first served as spokesperson for Lee National Denim Day back in 2003, well before she had any inkling of the disease.

In addition to that event, Christina Applegate has started up her own breast cancer charity, Right Action for Women. The main purpose of the organization seems to be to provide funds for those women who probably ought to get a mammogram, but lack the funds or the insurance coverage to do that. I do not know what effect the recent health care legislation will have on that situation, but, the idea for this charity came up well before the bill was passed.

I think it is unfortunate that the insurance industry has to be bullied or bribed into providing coverage for important preventative care, such as mammography, but to have done so, I suppose, would have violated the weasel code they live by. In any case, it is a good thing there are people like Christina Applegate who will use her wealth-probably considerable, but far more modest than most health insurance enterprises-to step up and provide some of that help.

Fame is a fleeting thing, and, if the day ever comes when Christina Applegate is largely forgotten as an actress, I hope she will still be remembered for her good deeds in the fight against breast cancer.

Sources

YouTube

huffingtonpost.com

Wikipedia