22 replies to this topic

[camay2327]

http://www.cnn.com/2...e.ap/index.html

Dana Reeve, widow of Christopher Reeve, dies of lung cancer

WHITE PLAINS, New York(AP) -- Dana Reeve, who won worldwide admiration for her devotion to her "Superman" husband, Christopher Reeve, through his decade of near-total paralysis, has died of lung cancer at the age of 44.

Reeve, a singer-actress who gave up some of her own career to be one of the nation's best-known caregivers, died late Monday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center, said Kathy Lewis, president of the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

Reeve had succeeded her husband as chair of the foundation, which funded research into spinal-cord paralysis cures. She announced in August that, while she wasn't a smoker, she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. (Watch CNN announces Reeve's death -- 1:49)

Lewis visited Reeve in the hospital Friday and said Reeve was "tired but with her typical sense of humor and smile, always trying to make other people feel good, her characteristic personality."

"She was a woman with an incredible heart who really put herself out there to help people with disabilities and especially those who are caregivers -- something she knew a lot about," Lewis said.

Four months ago, at a fundraising gala for the foundation, Reeve looked healthy in a long, formal gown and said she was responding well to treatment and her tumor was shrinking.

"I'm beating the odds and defying every statistic the doctors can throw at me," Reeve said then. "My prognosis looks better all the time."

Asked how she kept her spirits up, Reeve said she "had a great model."

"I was married to a man who never gave up," she said.

Christopher Reeve, star of Hollywood's "Superman" movies, became an activist for spinal cord research after a horse-riding accident paralyzed him in 1995. He died October 10, 2004.

Dana Reeve was a constant companion and supporter of her husband during his long ordeal and his work for a cure for spinal cord injuries.

The couple had a 13-year-old son, Will, and Dana Reeve had two grown stepchildren, Matthew and Alexandra.

Reeve, who lived in Pound Ridge, had appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway and regional stages and on the TV shows "Law & Order," "Oz," and "All My Children."

She was on the board of the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, where she met Christopher Reeve doing summer theater, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

A year ago, she won a Mother of the Year award from the American Cancer Society. A society vice president, Dr. Michael Thun, said Reeve "has shown strength and courage in the face of tremendous adversity." Doctors say 1 in 5 women diagnosed with the disease never lit a cigarette.

In addition to her son and step-children, she is survived by her father, Dr. Charles Morosini, and sisters Deborah Morosini and Adrienne Morosini Heilman.

No funeral plans were announced. The family said donations could be made in Dana Reeve's memory to the Christopher Reeve Foundation in Short Hills, New Jersey.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Chad Vander Veen]

So did a million other people.

[camay2327]

So what's your point?

[cw68]

It's sad that the son lost both of his parents at such young ages.

[Chad Vander Veen]

So what's your point?

My point is: If Christopher hadn't suffered an accident it's highly unlikely he would have ever been known for anything more than being a foppish Superman. He became an advocate for paralysis research only after he himself became paralyzed. His wife gained fame by being his wife, more or less. After his death last year, she was in the spotlight again. Her announcement she had lung cancer and her subsequent death are only in the news because a B-list actor fell off a horse...meanwhile a million other women who are far more heroic in their everyday lives die without one word reported in the papers.

[MSgt]

I think the real story here is that people who don't smoke get lung cancer. I didn't know that.

[mylo]

Although Chad is being his usual self, he does make a point. Cancer Mother of the Year? I'm sure there are thousands of heroic women who champion cancer research, perhaps even if they are not victims themselves, who get overlooked because this gal married superman.

Not to say their stories aren't tragedies, and I certainly pity the poor child, growing up with a disabled father and now to lose both his parents, but it does sadden me that it takes celebrity fame to make people care about these causes.

I saw a news report shortly after Christopher passed, saying they had lost a vocal champion for stem cell research. A void that would likely never be filled. They were really concerned that the momentum he had brought to the cause would be lost, and their research and funding cut. Simply because 1 figurehead died, it does not mean that thousands out there can't still benefit!

I guess that's just the American consumer way, respond whole heartedly to whatever crap is on TV today. I guess they now need to find a paraplegic or cancer survivor in New Orleans to stick on TV and make people care again.

Edited by mylo, 08 March 2006 - 08:20 AM.

[Chad Vander Veen]

Chris Reeves also made a sad point about people in general. I would bet the farm that a lot of people who perked up about paralysis research did so because, somewhere in their mind they thought, "Wow, even Superman can become paralyzed."

[ngilbert]

Chris Reeves also made a sad point about people in general. I would bet the farm that a lot of people who perked up about paralysis research did so because, somewhere in their mind they thought, "Wow, even Superman can become paralyzed."

I don't know if that is necessarily sad - it's just human nature to not pay attention to things that don't affect them. It doesn't make you cold-hearted, it's just that it would be too overwhelming to do otherwise. It's sort of the point of a famous spokesperson, like Christopher Reeve or Nancy Reagan in case of stem cell research, to make people go "oh - now I know someone affected by this". Of course they don't *really* know them personally, but *feel* they do. That may be an inictment of our celebrity culture, but it's no different than, say, Cleoptara raising ancient Egyptians' awareness about safe snake-handling procedures

Now if you meant that people thought that Christopher Reeve actually *was* Superman, well yeah, that's just plain sad.

[camay2327]

I put this on here because it was news and I thought it might be worth discussion. People do get lung cancer even if they don't smoke and it happens more with women than it does with men.

I have seen a lot of other articles on this net that deserve a lot less attention than this one does. In fact, c_vanderveen, puts some of these on too.

[Chad Vander Veen]

Sorry Camay,

I have a peeve about the breathless reporting of famous peoples' deaths. They are no better - and are often times much worse - than any regular Joe or Sue

[mylo]

Are you comparing Superman, George W. Bush, and Jesus in the same sentance?

Wow. Just, wow.

[folsom500]

Are you comparing Superman, George W. Bush, and Jesus in the same sentance?

Wow. Just, wow.

Only by CV's definition of his comparison of ANY famous person with Sally and Joe ...


Cheers
F500

[Chad Vander Veen]

Kinda like if Bush were to die today or Jesus ?

F500

What in the heII are you talking about?

Edited by c_vanderveen, 08 March 2006 - 01:56 PM.

[camay2327]

I think enough has been said. Just let this subject die out...