Actress Fran Drescher is proud of the way she has turned her "pain into purpose" after using her cancer survival story to help others.
The Nanny star learned she was battling uterine cancer back in June, 2000, after two years of misdiagnoses, and had to undergo emergency treatment, which included getting a hysterectomy.
She was subsequently given the all clear, and on the seventh anniversary of the operation, Fran decided to launch her Cancer Schmancer Movement.
She has since dedicated her spare time to raising funds for the non-profit organization, which aims to ensure all women's cancers are diagnosed in Stage 1 of the disease, when it is most curable, and while the actress isn't happy to have struggled through the illness, she is thankful for the way it has changed her life - and that of many others.
"I'm gonna be 17 years well (this month), and the organization is gonna be 10 years (old), and it's just an amazing journey," Fran said on breakfast show Today.
"I mean, bad things happen to good people, but what we do with it, how we grow through it, and what becomes of us as a result is what makes all the difference, and I have to say that, I'm not glad I had cancer, but I am better for it, because I've turned my pain into purpose."
Fran, 59, will mark the 17th anniversary of her cancer operation on 21 June (17), but she will begin celebrating a couple days early as she embarks on her charity Cabaret Cruise in New York on 19 June (17). Proceeds raised from the boat ride will benefit her Cancer Schmancer Movement.
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