When she learned that she had breast cancer, Jaclyn Smith handled it as she does most things: privately. After a malignant growth was found during a routine checkup several weeks ago, the 56-year-old actress—best known as the nicest member of the crime-fighting trio in the '70s TV sensation Charlie's Angels—quietly underwent a lumpectomy and radiation treatment. By Aug. 8 she was on the L.A. set of the CBS drama The District and prepping for a cameo in next year's Angels film sequel. "She is working," says District producer John Wirth. "She is energetic. She hasn't said a thing about it."

Not even to some of her closest friends—at least not until her husband, heart surgeon Brad Allen, 48, confirmed the news to Star last week. "When I yelled at her for not telling me," says her longtime agent Jack Gilardi, "she said, 'I wanted to wait until I knew I was okay before it got out to anybody' " Though she was scared at first, he adds, "she assured me she is fine."

Early detection made all the difference. "The lump they found was very tiny," says her ex-husband, cinematographer Anthony Richmond, 60, with whom Smith has two kids, Gaston, 20, and Spencer Margaret, 16. Still, her loved ones are counting their blessings. "My mother and I are very close," says Gaston, a film major at UCLA. "I have tried to be supportive, but I have never been around anything like this before. I am just thankful she's okay."