Published on March 27, 2023 at 7:05 am
It’s a personal battle for the Desperate Housewives star: she was diagnosed in 2017 with anal cancer due to HPV – © Bestimage
American actress Marcia Cross is a committed woman. One of the fights she carries is that of the fight against anal cancer, a disease still considered shameful, around which the actress wants to break the taboo.
Marcia Cross made a very noticeable appearance at the Series Mania festival in Lille, between evacuation of the red carpet, invaded by demonstrators and declarations of support for the garbage collectors on strike. But the actress didn’t stop there.
She took advantage of her visit to address a subject close to her heart: anal cancer and the taboo that still surrounds this disease. “It’s not a cancer that is easy to talk about” confided the actress, quoted by “Marie Claire”.
It’s a personal battle for the Desperate Housewives star: She was diagnosed with HPV anal cancer in 2017, which also caused her husband to develop throat cancer. In remission since 2018, the actress actively participates in raising awareness around this cancer.
“Nobody wants to be the spokesperson for anal cancer” according to her, but “if we don’t talk about it, people will die” summarizes the actress. She herself was diagnosed by chance, after a routine gynecological examination.
READ ALSO >> Cancer caused by a papillomavirus: “Fortunately, I did not die. She would have blamed herself for it until the end of her days…”
An unrecognized cancer
According to the Curie Institute, anal cancer affects around 1,000 people a year in France, which partly explains the lack of knowledge about this disease. Women are much more affected than men, especially because anal cancer is one of the complications caused by the papillomavirus.
The most common symptoms of this cancer are the presence of blood in the stool, disturbed transit, a feeling of pressure and itching in the anal area. A mass may also appear in this area, or near the groin.
“To be honest, I never dreamed of being the spokesperson for anal cancer. But during the process, I read testimonials from people affected who were ashamed, who hid, or who lied about their diagnosis,” she explained to the American magazine “Coping With Cancer” in November 2020.
A shame that goes beyond the sick, since according to the actress “The doctors are not comfortable talking about it either”. Since her diagnosis, she has therefore worked actively to raise awareness of this cancer among the general public, because an early diagnosis considerably increases the chances of survival.