Valerie Harper Battles Brain Cancer With an Upbeat Outlook - Closer Weekly

In early 2013, Valerie Harper was given just months to live when she was diagnosed with brain cancer. But today, the star is still standing strong.

“I’m functioning really well,” the 75-year-old actress told ‘Closer’ at a recent awards gala in Beverly Hills.

What’s behind her miracle? Good health care and a positive attitude, Valerie insists.

valerie harper and husband — Getty Images

Valerie with her husband, Tony, in January 2014.

“I talk to my cells. And I say, ‘Listen you guys, you are killing the host! We can live together, but if you keep growing, you are out of here — we both are,'” she said.

Another secret is “staying a kid,” the still-youthful actress revealed — sounding a lot like Rhoda Morgenstern, the sassy character she played on the 70s sitcoms ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and ‘Rhoda.’

Valerie’s also using alternative therapies, including herbal teas and acupuncture, along with traditional treatments administered by experts. Her gurus include the doctors at Cedars-Sinai hospital in LA, and Eugene “Luigi” Facciuto, whose jazz-exercise classes keep up her stamina.

Valerie (left) alongside Mary Tyler Moore (center) and Cloris Leachman (right) on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ in 1971.

“I just do what Luigi said, never stop moving,” Valerie explained.

Valerie’s done more than keep moving — she’s come a long way since January 2013, when she was diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (a rare cancer of her brain lining), and given three months to live. For the star, who’d already survived lung cancer in 2009, it was a terrible shock.

To read the full story on Valerie, pick up the new issue of ‘Closer Weekly,’ on newsstands now!