Christina Applegate from 'Married… with Children' Gave Birth to Her Daughter after Battling Breast Cancer

Christina Applegate opened up about becoming a mother after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Christina Applegate, best known for her role in the 90s FOX sitcom "Married... with Children," opened up about becoming a mother after having battled breast cancer,

Christina welcomed her daughter Sadie in 2011, after undergoing a double mastectomy and therapy to eradicate her cancer.

Christina is only one of a series of celebrities who have suffered from breast cancer or carry the BRCA1 genetic mutation.

A SHOCKING DIAGNOSIS

In 2008, the then-recently-divorced Christina faced one of the greatest challenges in her life when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Christina had inherited the BRCA1 genetic mutation from her mother, Nancy Priddy, herself a breast cancer survivor. At the time, Christina's representative announced:

"Christina Applegate was diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer. Benefiting from early detection through a doctor-ordered MRI, the cancer is not life-threatening."

A DOUBLE MASTECTOMY AT 37

At the age of 37, Christina underwent a double mastectomy and decided to change her lifestyle radically. Christina's first step was to change the kinds of foods she consumed and she became a vegetarian. She said:

"The first thing is to be really diligent about what you’re putting into your body, as far as what kind of food you’re eating."

A NEW LIFE AND A NEW LOVE

In 2009, during her recovery, Christina met and started dating Dutch musician Martyn LeNoble. In 2010, Martyn popped the question, and they were married two years later, in 2013, in a lovely, intimate ceremony at their Los Angeles home.

WELCOMING HER ONLY CHILD

In 2011, Christina and Martyn welcomed their only daughter, Sadie Grace. Although a pregnancy immediately after cancer can be dangerous, a pregnancy 2 to 5 years after treatment is no riskier than pregnancy in a woman who has never had cancer, revealed Dr. Daniel Roshan, from the NYU School of Medicine.

RIGHT ACTION FOR WOMEN

After her recovery, Christina has become active, promoting the early diagnosis of breast cancer, and alerting women to the need for frequent checkups and tests. The actress founded the Right Action for Women organization, which helps at-risk women pay for MRI screenings and testing.

Right Action For Women runs a national financial assistance program to help women with limited means who may be at high risk for breast cancer pay for diagnostic tests, including MRIs, which on average cost over $2,500.

PREVENTING OVARIAN CANCER

The BRCA1 genetic mutation Christina carries also increases the risk of ovarian cancer. In order to prevent the possibility that she might develop another cancer, Christina had her ovaries and her fallopian tubes removed in 2017.

INHERITED RISK

Like Christina, her daughter Sadie may also be at risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer if she carries the BRCA1 genetic mutation. Christina confessed:

"The chances that my daughter is BRCA positive are very high. I look at her and feed her the cleanest foods. I try to keep her stress levels down. I’m doing everything I can on my end."

When Sadie, now 9, becomes a woman, she will have to undergo frequent exams to ensure an early diagnosis in case she does develop breast or ovarian cancer, like her mother and her grandmother.

BEATING BREAST CANCER

According to the Breast Cancer organization, statistically, an estimated 276,480 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2020 in the US alone, and 1 in every 8 American women will develop breast cancer over the course of her life.

Christina is only one of a series of celebrities who have suffered from breast cancer or carry the BRCA1 genetic mutation.

These women, like Angelina Jolie, and Shannon Doherty, have been sharing their personal stories in an effort to alert other women who might be in danger, encouraging them to undergo genetic testing, carry out self-examinations, and visit their family doctor frequently.