Suzanne Somers refuses to let her cancer diagnosis “control” her life.
The “Three’s Company” icon, 76, confirmed that her breast cancer has returned just hours after her producer husband, Alan Hamel, announced the sad news in an interview with Pvnew.
“I have been living with cancer since my 20s. And every time that little f—ker pops up, I continue to bat it back,” she said on Monday in a statement shared with Entertainment Tonight. “I do my best not to let this insidious disease control me.”
“It’s a recurrence of my breast cancer. Like any cancer patient, when you get that dreaded, ‘It’s back’ you get a pit in your stomach,” she continued. “Then I put on my battle gear and go to war. This is familiar battleground for me and I’m very tough.”
The blond beauty was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 50s, skin cancer in her 30s, and “dealt with two hyperplasia” in her 20s, according to Hamel.
“My cancer is a disease that affected my whole family and once it hit me in my 20s, Alan and I got even closer and every moment of every day was precious,” she added. “We have not spent even one day apart in over 42 years. That’s the big upside of my cancer.”
The actress credits her “unbelievably supportive” family and her extremely healthy lifestyle as the reason why she hasn’t succumbed to the disease.
“My doctors said that if I didn’t lead a chemical free life, supported by bio-identical hormones, I would not likely be here today,” she claimed. “I am so grateful to all my fans for all the loving wishes. That means so much to me. God Bless America.”
Hamel shared the heartbreaking news on Monday after fans noticed that Somers hadn’t appeared on her popular Facebook Live show for a while.
“Suzanne has lived with cancer all her life,” Hamel, 87, told us. “She has now dealt with her cancer once again.”
The producer noted that his wife “got an all-clear” from her doctor on June 6. Yet given her history, they will continue to “closely monitor everything going forward.”
“All her doctors said if she didn’t lead a chemical-free, organic life supported by bioidentical hormones, she wouldn’t be with us,” he added.
While she is currently cancer-free, the actress “decided to put work on the back burner for now and focus on her health.”
Aside from her battle with cancer, the “A New Way to Age” author is also still recuperating from a neck injury, which she sustained in 2020 after taking a tumble down the stairs at her home.
Although Somers, who was also recovering from a fractured hip at the time, got neck surgery — Hamel says she is still dealing with some unresolved issues from the fall.
“The concussion created a bad case of hydrocephalus, which impacted her balance and walking,” he explained.
While it’s unclear when Somers will be making her return to her online show, her family — including Hamel’s daughter, Leslie Hamel, Suzanne’s daughter-in-law Caroline and Caroline’s daughters — have kept the show going in her absence.
