Sharon Osbourne Says Cancer Has Spread

reuters.com ^

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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.

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Look. You continue to condemn a person for their past actions. People can and DO change. Remember our current President??? Yes, even he wasn't a saint either- admittedly so. If we can forgive our President his past, we should be able to do the same for anyone who is trying to make thier lives better.

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No one is trying to portray them as an ideal family. People are voicing thier concern and compassion for her health and the welfare of her family.

[Guillermo]

Who did I condemn?

I simply pointed out a fact.

Like I said earlier, when I see someone praising this dysfunctional family as ideal, I will point out that it's not.

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There is no normal. There is no perfect. And there is no ideal anything. Call me a cynic, but I call it reality. And I haven't seen anyone here trying to portray the Osbournes are normal, ideal or perfect. They are more dysfunctional than the Bundys. But I know a heck of a lot more families that are like the Osbournes than like Ozzy and Harriet.

[goodieD]

oops! thanks, I'm not quite sure whether he's dead or alive at this point, so I'll just wish him a long painful stint in Hell.

[Guillermo]

So since the families you know are more like the Osbournes than O&H, it should be celebrated??

Though it does figure the show is a "hit". The way this culture's gone, it's not surprising the lowest common denominator is the goal.

[rintense]

I think that what is being 'celebrated' (your word not mine) is showing two parents, one of whom happens to be famous, trying to raise their teenagers and help them to not make the same mistakes they've made. Ozzy himself has used his life as an example of what not to do.

So for all the swearing, etc., what CAN be celebrated is that they are trying to raise their kids by using their own lives as examples of what not to do. And what parent hasn't done that?

[discostu]

Nobody is saying they're ideal. All that was said is that there's clearly a lot of love in the family. Have they had problems? Yes. Families where one person is a drug addict tend to. Has the family been working to fix those problems? Yes. Why not remind people of Ozzy's self confessed "moment of clarity", that being the day Sharon held up a kitchen knife and said if he wanted to die so bad she'd take care of it for him. They're not a family like most of us are used to, but they love each other and they look out for each other. And I've seen families that couldn't muster that part up so I think that puts the Osbornes a step ahead of many.

[StoneColdGOP]

Who the hell is trying to setup the Osbournes as an ideal family or celebrate their parenting? Yes, their family is unorthodox to say the least, and I probably wouldn't go about raising my kids as they have done.

Is that any excuse for you to bash them on a thread about Sharon having colon cancer? Mighty big of you!

You know, Ozzy is a 53 year old rock star married to a woman the SAME AGE as he is. Not many rock stars can say that, maybe even a lot of non-famous men. And the family loves each other. They may have a different set of standards than YOUR family, but I think they've done well for themselves.

That's what counts, NOT trying to fit your mold of what a family ought to be.

[goodieD]

Almost forgot the top of my list:

Janet Reno, sorry, but Parkinson's isn't enough for me. Oh does that sound mean? I have this funny thing against people who torch and terrorize other people's kids.

[kcpopps]

"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."

Cmon Oz-man, you gotta give Sharon supportive and positive input now... not make statements like that that could take away hope. Mental strength, positive attitude is definitely a big help in fighting cancer and now it's your turn to be there for her to lean on!

That is not meant as a slam to Ozzy. I know Oz was devasted when his mother died several years back and this has to scare the heck out of him.

It seems pretty clear that Sharon has been the stable strong one in the family in the past, now Oz-man is going to have to pull some strength out of himself to help her face this. The above comment is about his fears, not hers.

Life does have a way of "kicking you in the nuts" though and my empathy is with the Osbournes.