Inside Brave Valerie Harper’s $3 Million Fight With Death
July 31 2019, Published 6:26 p.m. ET
Valerie Harper’s health and bank account were pushed to the breaking point as she sunk $3 million into miracle cancer cures to try and stay alive, insiders have told RadarOnline.com.
As the beloved Rhoda star’s condition worsened, sources said Harper began to lose the ability to speak. Her husband Tony Cacciotti rejected doctors’ recommendations to put her into hospice care as she faced her final days.
The actress and her hubby were left strapped for cash by her long and desperate battle with death — and even asked for fan donations to pay the star’s medical bills.
“Tony has found ways to cover all the bills that insurance or Medicare couldn’t,” a source said. “He’s been a miracle worker, but he’s reached the end of their finances.”
In 2009, Harper underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her lungs. She thought she had beaten the deadly disease until four years later, when she was told the cancer had spread to the linings of her brain and spinal cord — and she was given three months to live.
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Incredibly, for years she beat the odds with alternative treatments and an experimental drug.
According to a source, one pill alone cost $1,000 and the 79-year-old needed to take at least ten a week, totaling a whopping $3 million spent since she was diagnosed in 2013.
In order to continue fighting for her life, the Golden Globe winner sold her Los Angeles home years ago and her prized possessions.