Christina Applegate Reveals She's Been Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis
In a series of tweets, Christina Applegate revealed the heartbreaking diagnosis and thanked those who have supported her in her journey so far
The last few years for Christina Applegate have been an undeniable career high. Her show Dead to Me, which she both produces and stars in, has become an absolute hit for Netflix, with its third and final season still on the way. But on Twitter, Applegate just gave her fans an unexpected health update: She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis earlier this year.
“Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS,” she wrote. “It’s been a strange journey.”
Applegate continued, “But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.”
In a follow-up tweet, Applegate added, “As one of my friends that has MS said ‘we wake up and take the indicated action’. And that’s what I do. So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo.”
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS is “an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.” It typically affects more women than men, and is often diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. With her diagnosis, Applegate is now one of an estimated 2.3 million people living with MS around the world. In fact, the replies to Applegate’s tweet were filled with other people sharing their own experiences with the disease, offering encouragement and advice for the challenging road ahead.
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/1425064599968231429
Applegate also now joins a number of Hollywood stars who have announced in recent years that they have MS, including her The Sweetest Thing co-star, Selma Blair. Jamie Lynn Sigler, Montell Williams, and Jack Osbourne have also gone public with their MS diagnoses.
This comes after Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. Less than a month later, she announced that she was cancer-free following a double mastectomy. Her real-life experience with breast cancer later became a storyline for her character on Dead to Me. We don’t know how her MS diagnosis might come up in season 3 of the show, which has become an extremely personal project for Applegate. We only wish her the best as she navigates this scary time in her life.
