Actress and former Charlie's Angel star Farrah Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. In February 2007, Fawcett announced she was cancer free following months of chemotherapy, but the cancer returned just months later.E! Online: Farrah Fawcett Hospitalized (April 5, 2009) In 2009, Fawcett underwent an experimental stem cell treatment in Germany.RadarOnline.com: Exclusive: Farrah Fawcett Hospitalized; Family Gathers (April 4, 2009)
On May 15, 2009, NBC will air a two-hour special called Farrah's Story. Fawcett narrates the documentary which chronicles her two and half year battle with cancer, including her treatments in the U.S. and Germany.Newsday: Farrah's Story (May 5, 2009)
Famous Hair
During an exclusive interview with People magazine published on May 7, 2009, Fawcett's long-time companion, Ryan O'Neal, discussed Fawcett's terminal cancer for the first time. O'Neal told the magazine that Fawcett has lost her iconic hair, "her famous hair. I have it at home. She didn't care. I rub her head. It's kind of fun, actually, this great, tiny little head. How she carried all that hair I'll never know. She doesn't have a vanity about it."People: Ryan O'Neal's Heartbreak over Critically Ill Farrah (May 7, 2009)
Ryan also told People, "she stays in bed now. The doctors see that she is comfortable. Farrah is on IVs, but some of that is for nourishment. The treatment has pretty much ended."People: Ryan O'Neal's Heartbreak over Critically Ill Farrah (May 7, 2009)
Visit from Redmond
Redmond O'Neal, Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal's son, in is jail for drug-related probation violation. O'Neal was granted a three-hour leave from jail on April 25, 2009 to visit his ailing mother at home. In what may be his last goodbye, O'Neal can be seen in Farrah's Story climbing into bed with his sleeping mother and crying while he is in his jail-issued jumpsuit and shackles. O'Neal is waiting for a transfer to a lockdown rehab facility.People: Ryan O'Neal's Heartbreak over Critically Ill Farrah (May 7, 2009)
Declining Health
On April 6, 2009, Fawcett was reportedly in "critical but stable condition," and slipping in and out of consciousness.CBS News: Farrah Fawcett Hospitalized in L.A. (April 6, 2009) In an interview with the Associated Press, a producer who worked with Fawcett said she was being treated for cancer that spread to her liver and the hospitalization was for a complication from a routine treatment. Fawcett was hospitalized in Los Angeles, on Thursday, April 2, 2009.RadarOnline.com: Exclusive: Farrah Fawcett Hospitalized; Family Gathers (April 4, 2009)
National Enquirer Battle
After the details of Fawcett's cancer was revealed in an issue of the National Enquirer, an investigation was launched to find the source of the leak. In early December 2008, Lawanda Jackson, a former UCLA Medical Center employee, pleaded guilty to violating medical privacy laws. Jackson reportedly sold Fawcett's medical information to the magazine for approximately $4,600. Jackson reportedly accessed the medical records of other famous patients including Maria Shriver and Britney Spears.BBC News: Health worker sold Spears records (December 2, 2008) E! Online: Ex-UCLA Staffer Admits to Peddling Farrah's File (December 2, 2008)