Posted on 07/19/2002 8:51:59 AM PDT by rintense
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sharon Osbourne's cancer has spread beyond her colon and the wife of the anarchic British rock star Ozzy Osbourne will start a three-month course of chemotherapy at the end of July, she told People magazine in an interview released on Thursday.
Osbourne, 49, who has become a TV star with most of the rest of the family thanks to the hit MTV reality series "The Osbournes," said her prognosis was "very, very good" but that Ozzy Osbourne was "hysterical" when first told the news.
Sharon Osbourne, credited with reviving her husband's career after he was fired from heavy metal band Black Sabbath in 1979, underwent colon cancer surgery on July 3 and her publicist said at the time she was expected to make a full recovery.
But Osbourne told People that one of two nearby lymph nodes removed during the procedure had since tested positive for cancerous cells, indicating the cancer had spread beyond her colon.
"It was not the best news," she told People. "You think nothing will ever happen to you. You're invincible. Then after you get over the shock and panic you realize how lucky you are to be alive.
"That's where I am right now. I simply have to take care of this thing," she said.
Osbourne said she would start three months of chemotherapy on July 29, and that she planned to allow MTV to film the treatment when shooting resumes for the second season of "The Osbournes" -- the show that follows the chaotic daily exploits of the foul-mouthed family.
"People will see me having chemo. It'll be interesting," she said. "We need to get a different vibe going. I think I'll bring some music, introduce myself, maybe we can sing some songs and cheer the place up."
Osbourne said Ozzy, her husband of 20 years, "was hysterical, just terrified," when she told him the news, adding, "The doctor had to come over and sedate him."
Ozzy told People the couple planned to renew their marriage vows on Sharon's 50th birthday on October 9. "I've always had a plan that I'd get sick before she did, that I'd die before she did. But my plan didn't work out....Life has a way of kicking you in the nuts," he said.
Their 16-year-old son Jack was also in the news on Thursday. He hurt his arm after a fall while climbing an empty building on Malibu's derelict pier to prepare to dive into the ocean. A lifeguard who treated him at the scene said Jack suffered only minor injuries.
My love and best wishes to Sharon and the whole Osbourne crew.
As for the a-hole FReepers that take pleasure in other's pain, screw 'em.
That's very true. They have been married 20 years. This is fact missed y many of their FR detractors. They also spend a lot of time with their kids, and show them a ,ot of affection.
But, some around here cannot see that.
Always the show of the true rock of this family, God bless her. Her attitude alone will be a terrific weapon in battling this horrendous disease. I'll keep her and the rest of the family in my prayers.
Cancer is not the death sentence it one was...sw
( Prognosis )
The prognosis of survival directly correlates with the stage of the colon cancer at the time of diagnosis. The 5 year survival rates are given according to the Duke's classification.
Most recurrences after surgical resection occur within the first 4 postoperative years.
| DUKE'S CLASSIFICATION | EXTENT OF INVASION | LYMPH NODE INVOLVEMENT | PROGNOSIS |
| Duke's A | Limited to the mucosa | None | 5 year survival >90% |
| Duke's B1 | into muscularis propria | No lymph node involvement | 5 year survival 70-85% |
| Duke's B2 | through muscularis propria | No lymph node involvement | 5 year survival 55-65% |
| Duke's C1 | into muscularis propria | Lymph node involvement is present | 5 year survival 45-55% |
| Duke's C2 | through muscularis propria | Lymph node involvement is present | 5 year survival 20-30% |
| Duke's D | distant metastases | not applicable | 5 year survival <1% |
My dad has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He's one of the lucky ones. They were able to remove the lesion and treat with radiation. That's going on 9 years ago now. His regular MRIs show there is another lesion but it is not doing anything right now and they say he could die of old age before that lesion changed enough for him to require further treatment. His brother, my uncle, was not so lucky. He was diagnosed with the same disease about a year before my dad was, only it was further advanced, and he died of a chemo-related infection a couple of years later.
But it's all good. As soon as someone they enjoy, may they be entertainers or political figures, get's struck with an illness, I'll be sure to return their love.
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