Selma Blair has to undergo ‘aggressive chemotherapy’ ?
Actor Selma Blair has revealed that she is undergoing “aggressive” chemotherapy to treat her multiple sclerosis. The actor had last year revealed that she had been diagnosed with the degenerative disease that affects the brain, spinal cord and the optic nerves.
Speaking at a panel during Time 100 Health Summit in New York, US, Blair said she is undergoing “aggressive” chemotherapy and stem cell transplant as part of her treatment.
“The disease modifiers didn’t work for me at the time, and I was really declining more rapidly than I found acceptable,” the Legally Blonde (2001) and Cruel Intentions (1999) actor shared.
Blair, 47, said that she was initially reluctant to take up the new treatment. “I was like, I’m not ruining my body, what’s left of it. Why would I put this horrible drug, chemotherapy, in me? I don’t have cancer. But I was kind of out of options and I was looking,” said Blair, adding that she felt some relief from pain after she received a “microdose” of chemotherapy before her stem cell transplant. She decided to go ahead with it, even though she received a warning.
“I was warned. You kind of make your plans for death, [and] I told my son I was doing this and he said he wanted me cremated. I had more chemo than they usually do for cancer patients, because they almost kill you,” the actor shared, adding, “And it’s the stem cell that allows you to live with that amount of chemo. The chemo is the MS cure, if it does in fact happen.”
Though things went “pretty smoothly”, she still believes her fight is far from over. “I haven’t talked about it much yet because I wanted to show everyone that the proof is in the pudding, but my pudding is still kind of scrambled. I don’t want to scare people away,” she said.
For her treatment, Blair has shaved her head and getting her hair back is the least of her concerns at the moment. “That was a small thing, I never minded hair loss or any of those things that were about ego. My dream was just to lie next to my son at night and be there as long as I can,” Blair said.