Cheryl Ladd reveals secret battle with aggressive breast cancer

Cheryl Ladd spoke about her aggressive breast cancer and the treatement she endured for two decades.

In 2002, Ladd was diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent a lumpectomy and radiotherapy, and has been living a healthy life ever since.

She had a reunion with Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith on Monday, April 6, while attending PaleyFest in Los Angeles for the 50th anniversary celebration of the legendary TV series Charlie’s Angels.

The 74-year-old American actress and singer, who played the role of Kris Munroe in the crime drama television series, was on the panel discussion with her erstwhile co-stars, where she opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis. She told the audience that she had “an aggressive form” of cancer but she “had wonderful doctors.”

“I was bald. It was a humbling experience and yet I have a wonderful husband…he was there for me at every turn. Eventually I started to get little sprouts of hair. It was a long, long, hard road, but you just get on with it,” Ladd explained, alluding to her husband Brian Russell, to whom she has been married since 1981.

Notably, the reason why the Purple Hearts star maintained transparency about her cancer was because her disease affected her cast members.

For those unaware, Jackson, who played the role of Subrine Duncan in Charlie’s Angels, also suffered from breast cancer in 1987 and underwent a lumpectomy and radiation; however, her cancer returned in 1989. To defeat the deadly disease a second time, she underwent reconstructive surgery and a partial mastectomy.

Another star named Farrah Fawcett, who portrayed Jill Munroe in the series, was also diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006 but her disease claimed her life after three years in 2009.

Taking part in the discussion, Smith, who played Kelly Garrett in the series, revealed that the first thing she sent Ladd was her “wigs. She was so brave.” Cheryl Ladd emphasised, “If you find a little something in your breasts…do not ignore it”.

It is pertinent to mention that Charlie’s Angels, which started on September 22, 1976, ended on June 24, 1981, after five seasons. It is “a classic crime drama following three talented women—Sabrina, Jill, and Kelly who leave mundane police work to become private investigators for the Townsend Agency in Los Angeles.”