What cancer?
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mikvance — 20 years ago(December 30, 2005 09:52 PM)
She could have gotten treatment, children be damned she would have been alive and possibly adopted. Damn, reminds me of how Jim Henson died refusing treatment. Damn you Michelle R.I.P. you stole your beauty away from us

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ameeraana — 20 years ago(February 26, 2006 10:55 AM)
On December 22, 1998, the young and talented actress died of a rare form of stomach cancer called intra-abdominal desmoplastic small round cell tumor, an illness she kept secret for many months. This rare form of cancer is usually only found in adolescent boys. She was diagnosed in August of 1997. She refused treatment up until she fell term238inally ill. The day of her passing, her former boyfriend Malcolm Jamal Warner was at her bedside.
taken from: "Family Matters" Actress Dies From Stomach Cancer
from AP wired reports, Spring 1999 -
GoldieGirlie — 20 years ago(March 03, 2006 11:19 AM)
It could have been both b/c cancer does have the capability to spread to other areas of the body.
I had an uncle that had prostate cancer and even though he had it treated it spread to his stomach before he died.
Sum of the posters act like the Etainers R paying their bills. It ain't that crucial. -
bargainholic — 17 years ago(August 23, 2008 01:31 AM)
I seem to remember our local news stating she was diabetic and I thought she died too young from complications. How sad her closest buds and family couldn't talk her into treatment and being a mom in a less traditional matter. (Adoption, freezing eggs, surrogate mother, etc) RIP, people still care.
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datphoolishboi21 — 18 years ago(August 23, 2007 01:56 PM)
don't remember which one it was, but i do know that she refused to get treatment for it because it would've interefered with either her doin the show or maybe side effects. i just know she refused to get it.
"I don't wanna marry her for her money, but I don't know how else to get it!" -
Jay-Jay-RD — 18 years ago(September 09, 2007 04:06 PM)
She refused treatments because she wanted to have children before she died. Ironically, she died before she could have children.
RIP Judith Eva Barsi
RIP Heather O'Rourke
RIP Jonathan Brandis
RIP Michelle Thomas
RIP Aaliyah -
TGGuy — 18 years ago(October 17, 2007 10:03 AM)
OK, I just read all these posts and they have a lot of conflicting information.
She died of a very rare, very deadly cancer. It's called a desmoplatic small round cell sarcoma and can occur in virtually any part of the body - her's occured in her abdomen (near her stomach and ovaries, which is probably part of the confusion).
It was likely quite large when it was detected, meaning she had a poorer prognosis than most.
Even aggressive treatment with drugs and surgery probably wouldn't have increased her chances of surviving more than 3 years to 20%.
Any patient diagnosed with cancer must choose what treatment they would prefer. The choice for her was no treatment which would mean a couple of years of mostly normal living with an almost certain difficult death at the end versus maybe 3 years of difficult hospital stays, rounds of draining chemotherapy (causing weight loss, hair loss, stomach upset and likely infertility) and only a slight chance she would survive.
Other cancers have a better survival rate with treatment and then patients are more likely to accept the risks and dangers of chemo and surgery.
Hope this helps. -
eugenelavery — 18 years ago(January 03, 2008 10:16 AM)
She did die of intra-abdominal desmoplastic small round cell tumor. It is a rare form of cancer almost always found in young-adults. It is hard to diagnose as it is often mistaken for ovarian cancer. I think this has led to some thinking she died of ovarian cancer.