Etheridge (with Michaels in January) "is strong," says pal Ellen DeGeneres. "She'll come through fine." Photo by: Neal Preston / Retna |
While Etheridge projected an upbeat mood, O'Donnell says her friend felt the impact keenly when she first heard the C word. "She was in shock. It was unbelievably overwhelming to be diagnosed and hear that word. You're like, 'What?' " Still, says O'Donnell, who lost her 39-year-old mother to breast cancer in 1973 and had a scare herself at age 32, "the survival rate is huge, and it's not the death sentence that it was when my mother got it." Etheridge, who has played benefit concerts to raise awareness and research dollars for breast cancer, is now resting at her four-bedroom 1920s farmhouse in L.A. By her side throughout the ordeal has been Tammy Lynn Michaels, 29, the actress she exchanged vows with in September 2003. Since then – while Etheridge released her eighth album,
Lucky and Michaels starred on Showtime's
The L Word – the newlyweds have settled into cozy domesticity with their three cats, two dogs and Etheridge's two children. (She shares custody of Bailey Jean, now 7, and Beckett, 5, with her ex-girlfriend, Julie Cypher.) For the moment, Etheridge is busy e-mailing her closest friends, savoring family time and enjoying Michaels's homemade cinnamon rolls. "She's in a good place," says O'Donnell.
Love says that in cases like Etheridge's, surgery is typically followed by a six-week course of radiation and three months of chemotherapy. "We'll discuss what comes out of her meeting with the medical oncologist and go from there," says Love. "It's just, 'I've got to deal with it and I will.' That's her attitude."
Though Etheridge has canceled the remainder of her current North American tour, she reassured fans on her Web site, "I am looking forward to a quick and full recovery." Her plans include writing songs for a new album and continuing work on a pilot for an ABC sitcom in which she's slated to star as a gay music teacher. "Melissa," predicts her pal Kathy Najimy, "will soar through this in her usual, unbelievably courageous fashion."
