Christina Applegate has shared the devastating news that she has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The Dead To Me star took to Twitter on Tuesday to reveal the news to her “friends,” admitting it has been “a strange journey”.
Christina’s The Sweetest Thing co-star Selma Blair was diagnosed with MS in 2018. Selma commented on Christina’s tweet, sharing: “Loving you always. Always here. As are our kids. Beating us up with love.”
Christina, 49, tweeted: “I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.” In a second tweet, the actress asked for privacy, joking that “as one of my friends that has MS said ‘we wake up and take the indicated action’.”
“And that’s what I do. So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo.”
Multiple Sclerosis occurs when the body’s immune system damages the myelin insulating the nerves in the central nervous system (CNS), disrupting the signals received by the brain.
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the symptoms of the unpredictable disease vary greatly, and the impact of the immune system’s attack on the CNS can result in different neurological issues. The cause of the disease is unknown, but women are three times more likely to get MS than men.
Selma shared her diagnosis in 2019 and told fans that she had thought, for years, that she was suffering from minor illnesses or even a pinched nerve.
However, the diagnosis finally explained her disabilities including her occasional falling, dropping things, foggy memory, and her left side acting like it was “asking for directions from a broken GPS.”
The third season of Netflix’s Dead To Me began filming in May. In the show, Christina plays single mother Jen who is trying to keep her life afloat as others continue to make matter worst.
In 2008, Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her representative shared the news in a statement: “Christina Applegate was diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer. Benefiting from early detection through a doctor-ordered MRI, the cancer is not life-threatening. Christina is following the recommended treatment of her doctors and will have a full recovery.”
A few weeks later, it was announced that the actress was cancer-free after a double mastectomy, though cancer was found in only one breast.
She has an inherited genetic trait, a BRCA1 mutation, which can trigger breast and ovarian cancer. Her mother, Nancy Priddy, is a breast cancer survivor.
