Valerie Harper Clarifies Why She Told Closer She Was “Absolutely Cancer Free”

In an interview in this week's Closer Weekly, Valerie Harper revealed to the magazine she was "absolutely cancer free."

Here, Closer offers the beloved star an opportunity to clarify her quote to the magazine: "I want to thank Closer Weekly for giving me a chance to clarify my story and, more importantly, to address the headline which states that I am cancer free. I am not cancer free.

"As I have stated on many occasions, I have Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis (Lepto), lung cancer that has traveled to the meninges around my brain.

"While speaking to the reporter for Closer Weekly, I was relaying a story where
my doctor had told me that in his 30 year practice, I was the only Lepto patient he has seen without other cancers already present.

"I had just had my yearly full-body scan to determine if this sneaky cancer had
migrated to other parts of my body. Therefore, in completing that part of the story, I told the reporter with excitement that I was cancer-free, but what I meant to say was that my full body scan revealed that I was still thankfully cancer free.

"What all parties want to be made clear now is that while the Lepto has not spread, I am still not cured. I am a cancer patient, and I continue to fight with the hope that a cure may be just around the corner.

"I am grateful to my fans that I am in their thoughts and prayers. That support gives me great hope."

We want to thank Valerie for sharing her story with us and hope that she continues in her recovery.