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Christina Applegate’s Memoir Rewrites Her Cancer Narrative and Lays Bare Life With MS

The actor now rejects her past upbeat framing to pledge unfiltered honesty about her illness.

Overview

  • In You With The Sad Eyes, Applegate says calling her 2008 double mastectomy a “blessing” was untrue and writes she felt “disgusted” by herself for saying it publicly.
  • She recounts telling Oprah Winfrey and ABC’s Robin Roberts that cancer was a blessing, now calling that portrayal “bulls***” and a harmful standard for others.
  • Applegate details her 2008 early-stage breast cancer, a BRCA1-positive test, and a preventative double mastectomy after which she was confirmed cancer-free.
  • Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, she describes worsening, “excruciating” pain, severe fatigue, nerve pain, numbness, and incontinence requiring adult diapers, declaring, “I’m not going to lie anymore. MS sucks.”
  • Coverage of the book includes sharp criticism in a Daily Mail column that challenges the memoir’s harsh tone and its personal portrayals of friends and former partners.