Photo by: Brian Smith / CORBIS OUTLINE |
Daisy Fuentes
When her mother, Maria, learned that she had breast cancer in her early 40s, 16-year-old Daisy Fuentes was stunned: "I kept saying, 'You're going to be fine,' and inside you're saying, 'It's
cancer.' " Maria underwent a successful lumpectomy. "Had she waited six months," says Fuentes, now 37, "it may have been a completely different story." After Fuentes became a Revlon spokeswoman in 1993, she became involved with the company's breast cancer campaign. At first, Maria was hesitant to go public. "She wanted to help people, but she still hadn't even talked to a lot of her friends," says Fuentes. "That lets you know the stigma that's still connected to it. Women still think it's something they did wrong, especially in the Latin and inner-city communities." After her 10th anniversary of beating the disease, however, Maria relented. "She finally went full circle," says Fuentes. "She really feels like a survivor now."
Edie Falco
Photo by: phillippe noisette / star file |
The
Sopranos star's approach to cancer has been to stay focused on her work and not let illness define her life. Diagnosed in 2003, she completed treatment early this year. "She came through it," says a spokesperson. "Everything's fine; she's clear." Currently Falco, 41, is in rehearsal for a Broadway revival of
'Night Mother, which opens Nov. 14.
