Charlotte Rae shares her experience with pancreatic cancer

Chalotte Rae, familiar to millions of TV viewers as the housemother on the '80s sitcom The Facts of Life, was diagnosed in 2009 with pancreatic cancer, an often-silent killer with few if any symptoms until it is too late.

Some 40,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer are diagnosed each year, and by the time diagnosis is made, up to 80 percent of patients are no longer candidates for treatment.

"I had no symptoms," Rae says. "I had absolutely no symptoms. None whatsoever."

But Rae was, in a way, lucky. Because she had a family history of the disease - her mother, uncle and older sister all died from the disease - she underwent early screening, which detected the cancer at an early stage.

"We're working hard to develop tests for earlier diagnosis," says Howard Reber, M.D., director of the UCLA Pancreatic Cancer Program. The goal is to create something similar to the PSA test now done to detect prostate cancer in its early stages, before it has had a chance to spread. "In patients where we know that there's an increased likelihood of the development of the disease, we can screen them, we can get CT scans, we can get endoscopic ultrasounds," Dr. Reber says.

In Rae's case, the cancer was detected and found to be contained, but it was growing fast. Surgery was performed to remove the cancer, and now, following surgery and chemotherapy, Rae is cancer free.

Learn more about pancreatic cancer at www.pancreas.ucla.edu

Category:

People & Blogs

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• Dr. Howard Reber
• UCLA Pancreatic Cancer Program

[UCLAHealth]

Thank you all for watching!

[bjnboy]

Wow, after all this time, she still sounds like Aunt Figg.

[myms06]

This was a good and helpful tool for Pancreatic Cancer. I am being tested now for familiar Pancreatic Cancer in my imediated family including Grandmother, her 2 sisters, my mother, and then my 47 y/o brother in 03. I came down with an abnormal Pancreas in a CT and Pancreatitis last week. Now I am having to get Genetic testing along with some other screening tests. It is worth it! Mary

[loveabelanger]

Thank God Charlotte was detected early enough and thanks to her wonderful medical staff who saved her life!!!! Those are the facts.

[ShanRocksYourSocks]

I'm so glad the cancer is gone :)

Such a sweet lady, I wish I could meet her.

[Seyahhsod]

I wonder if She saw THE FAMILY GUY

and the episode of Mrs. Garrett's Boosmn 

[Daalca011]

@szqsk8 I know you meant ; "I hope she does well with her treatments". Me too.

[szqsk8]

UCLA Medical Center is a great facility. I hope she dies well with her treatments. Hopefully she has medical insurance. Wish I did. :-(

[Calmingwaters3]

I've always loved Charlotte Rae. Not only is she such a cute old lady, but she also seems like a really sweet person. I wish I could be friends with her. And I'm happy to hear that her cancer is gone. I love you, Charlotte. And I hope you had a good birthday today (or technically yesterday since it's past midnight). Happy birthday and God bless you. I would give you a big hug if I could.