Farrah Fawcett in denial as she films cancer battle

There can be no happy ending to Farrah’s Story, despite the Charlie’s Angel actress’s attempts to transform her death by documenting her suffering

FIRST POSTED MAY 20, 2009

Ryan O'Neal turns to Farrah Fawcett, lying emaciated on her death bed, and says, "We did very well last night." She says, "What were the numbers?" They are not talking about a re-make of Love Story, this is Farrah's Story, the 90-minute documentary aired on NBC last week of Fawcett's fight against cancer - a fight she is losing rapidly. Fawcett's showbiz joke about ratings has a double edge in this case as it is undoubtedly her final performance. And the on-again off-again love affair between O'Neal and Fawcett has never been stronger.

Fawcett, now aged 62, discovered she had cancer of the bowel in 2006 and has been fighting ever since. After chemotherapy failed, she was told by her doctors that she would have to undergo major surgery and that she would be required to wear a permanent colostomy bag. Instead of following her doctors' advice, Fawcett turned to two German specialists who offered her a "less drastic" treatment called chemoembolisation - chemicals injected directly into the affected organs - at a cost of £3,500. a session. After a cocktail of further vitamins and chemical treatment, Fawcett was assured she was cured and the doctors claimed it was "a miracle". The truth was painfully revealed a few weeks later when Fawcett's scan showed that the cancer had spread to her liver.

The difficulty about denial is that it robs everyone of being able to say goodbye

The documentary, filmed and narrated by Fawcett's best friend, Alana Stewart, Rod Stewart's ex-wife, was intended to show Fawcett's victory over the disease and to be an inspiration to others. Tragically, as the story unfolds, we hear Fawcett sobbing, "I thought I would be cured." Although this would seem like an admission of failure, Fawcett, Stewart, and O'Neal nevertheless continue to hope for a miracle even when the odds are clearly against it.

Fawcett's indomitable fight against cancer is not only a desire to overcome the odds and to strive to live, it also stems from a fear of dying that is so overwhelming that reality itself needs to be constantly kept at bay. Fawcett's fear certainly fuelled her search for a cure but also made her particularly susceptible to

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Wow. What an angry, jealous, hate-filled person you'd have to be to write an article such as this. She made the best decisions she could in order to fight as hard as she could to survive with a reasonable quality of life. Yes, the cancer came back - that is a risk she was aware of and one the doctors had warned her was possible. Before commenting on the likelihood of cancer returning after a specific kind of scientifically-established treatment, you should obtain your medical degree. Until then, don't try to pass yourself off as an expert. You could have interviewed a doctor or two, in fact, but you failed to do that as well. I hope you never have to make the incredibly difficult life-and-death decisions that Farrah Fawcett and her family shared with us. But, someday you will.

Posted by Timothy Rigney at 9:19pm on May 20, 2009

So the author is Jungian analyst. It must be right. Just like the German snake oil merchants. Hopefully this tragic story will serve to make people aware of the dangers of relying on "alternative therapies".

Posted by TomNightingale at 11:32am on May 21, 2009

Don't know what the previous two posters are on about; the article is fair, balanced and caring. If a film star puts herself on TV then she has to take any criticism of that act, and the point about denial preventing her family from saying goodbye is a valid one. It's only a tragedy for her and her loved ones, why should the rest of us care, just because she once acted a girl cop in a pretty crass TV series? So many people are scared of death, and go to ridiculous lengths to put it off and clear their minds of thoughts of it, but we all must die, and the important thing is the quality of our life, not the length of it. She had as much of a chance with alternative therapies as with the chemo cosh preferred by modern medicine, but some cancer isn't treatable.

Posted by Peter Simmons at 12:16pm on May 21, 2009

My wife died last April of colon cancer, two years and a month after diagnosis.She had three major surgeries. She was prepared to try everything , snake oil or not , in her fight. Every thing from chemotherapy, diet change, vitamin therapy,and her faith, and a wonderful medical team.. We purchased Avastin with help from friends and fundraisers at $2000 per treatment, until our new government picked that up.We purchased second opinions.. The cancer spread to her liver , and eventually to her brain, but not once did she give up hope.When near the end she accepted a bed in palliative care, it was with the knowledge that we had tried everything possible. It involved all of our friends, all of our family and extended family. Every straw is grasped.Everything has to be tried, and human support is paramount. Good for Farrah for getting her story out. Bowel cancer doesn't get near the press of other kinds,notably breast cancer, yet it is the second biggest killer of all after lung cancer.

Posted by Michael Grisdale at 2:16pm on May 21, 2009

It's easy for a journalist to be "objective" but cancer is an emotive subject. I doubt if 9 million people will read this article or that it will raise the publicity profile of bowel cancer. Maybe Farrah wants to be centre stage one last time, but she's doing it because she wants the rest of us to know what she's gone through. Let's not judge either way. Let's just hope that Farrah finds peace soon and that her TV appearances do some good.

Posted by Mark Hale at 6:31pm on May 21, 2009

This seems to be another bunch of rubbish from Covington. It's mindless speculation and babble. For a moment, let's consider a rational approach. Farrah Fawcett needs money to pay for her treatment for disseminated anal cancer (not colon). She hasn't worked for a long time. She made this movie to make money. People watched it like gawkers driving past a car wreck as people will do. Let her pay her bills and return her carbon atoms to the earth.

Posted by nancy horn at 7:49pm on May 21, 2009

These were not "Alternative Medicine" approaches, they were scientifically established Western medicine techniques that are not yet available in the United States due to bureaucratic delays. She made a "quality of life" decision and now she's getting slammed for it - she didn't want to have to have a colostomy bag for the rest of her life. The first radiation therapy caused so much damage that surgery wasn't going to work. Hence the trips to Germany, in order to try a different - Western - scientifically established - method. It knocked it back down again but unfortunately it came back. Again, no one lied to her and she wasn't under any delusions. In my opinion, if you'd watched the program closely you'd understand why this article is intentionally deceptive and why there seems to be so much anger and jealousy and yes, hate, driving it.

Posted by Timothy Rigney at 10:17pm on May 21, 2009

A sad tale of the inevitable.

Posted by Peter at 7:19am on May 22, 2009

@Peter Simmons: "and the important thing is the quality of our life, not the length of it." {One big happy suicide party ? More seriously, you make a good case against "green" politics.} Rather arrogant Peter. The important thing is people make their own choices. >"She had as much of a chance with alternative therapies as with the chemo cosh preferred by modern medicine". Rather dangerous, Peter. Right now, in the US, Danny Hauser is dying when he might live, because his mother believes similar dangerous nonsense. (In this case she is a religious crank. Alternative therapists tend to be either that or crooks).

Posted by TomNightingale at 10:48am on May 22, 2009

Ms. CC, you choose to be part of the negativity in our society. You choose to support the giant Cancer industry. Basically I have no respect for your prostitution of your gift as a writer. It would take so much more effort and bravery to write about the success of alternate medicine. Such a cop out to criticize and deny alternate medicine and belief systems can be successful. I'll avoid your depressing byline in the future.

Posted by Pat Webster at 12:31pm on May 22, 2009

It is not possible to stop people to express their feelings about cancer or any other important issues of our lives

Posted by TanyaFox at 8:48pm on May 22, 2009

The word "fight" in regards to cancer (especially) is indicative of the very odd regard humans have come to have regarding death. Death seems to be thought of as the ultimate disease, the alien enforcer, even satanic in its relentlessness. But it is part of who we are, just as being born, waking up, breathing, eating, and being ill/well are. We have come now to think that the "fight" is a normal response. We bleed the financial and emotional resources of our families, communities, and governments (in some cases) to wage that fight which, if we win- in most cases- will gain us another 2, 3, maybe 10 years of life before the next go around or the next disease. If we must think of all of this as a "Battle" then we must also be ready to admit from the outset that death always wins. "I will die. I will die." Say that as many times as is necessary, daily, in order to truly begin to live.

Posted by Barryweber at 3:44pm on May 25, 2009

@Barryweber : Bravo - well said. If you believe there is another life after death in this world, then why not let go and move on. If you believe that this life is all there is, then do not hide from the inevitability of death. The medical services can at best postpone death, and improve the process of dying by pain relief. If the fear of death is removed, then maybe the quality of our life and old age will be improved more than medicines can ever do.

Posted by Peter Robinson at 3:14pm on May 27, 2009

This article was highly intelligent (which is an absolute novelty in the people department, let's be clear), yet very sensitive and respectful, all at once. Understanding the making of this documentary is not easy. Either her relatives are plain psychopaths, exploiting Miss Fawcett awful pain and vulnerability, or they're in a state of denial, as very well put and explained here. That is interesting how some of the people who are leaving comments here are throwing their brutal angriness at the journalist's face. What piece of reality is so upsetting to them? Nothing created by the journalist for sure. The messenger getting blasted... She certainly has hit a painful spot, though tactfully. After all, she must have been right then? Denial... Thank you again for this thoughtful article. Thanks to its frankness and sensitivity, may it help people going through such painfulness.

Posted by okkiunee at 8:12pm on May 27, 2009