Desperate Housewives actress Kathryn Joosten has lung cancer — and plans to do everything she can to fight it.
“I’ve got a little hang-up here,” Joosten told People magazine. “But we’re going to handle it and move forward. I’m doing great.”
The actress, who has won two Emmys (in the outstanding guest actress in a comedy category) for her role as Karen McCluskey, was bumped up to regular status this season.
But she had to inform Housewives producers earlier this week about her ailment because she expects her treatment to affect her shooting schedule.
“[The producers] are totally supportive,” Joosten continued. “I said, ‘If you want to put it in the storyline, do it! Tell anybody you want, because the public’s going to know.’”
Two weeks ago, the actress had her annual physical, during which doctors discovered a spot on her lung. She will undergo tests to determine what type of lung cancer she has, as well as figure out her course of treatment.
“I felt like the legs had been pushed out from under me,” Joosten recalled. “I completely did not expect it, and was devastated. I was crying for nearly five days straight.”
Joosten already dealt with the disease in 2001. She has regular speaking engagements about beating cancer, and even flew to Oklahoma City the day after receiving the news to talk to an audience of 600 people about surviving and living your dreams.
And Joosten’s a fighter: “To get back in control, I have to attack. I have to make this something that I can have an effect on.”
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