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Carson Daly
Daly admits he didn't give much thought to breast cancer before his mom's diagnosis in 1998. "What does a 25-year-old guy care about breast cancer, other than we love breasts? You get educated very fast," he says. The talk show host, now 31, learned quickly after his mother, Pattie Daly Caruso, underwent a lumpectomy, followed by a single mastectomy. Daly, who at 5 lost his father to bladder cancer, flew to be at her side. "He's strong, funny and wonderful," says Pattie, now 60, who has remained cancer-free. "Every time I see her," says Daly, "is an opportunity to celebrate life."
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Brittany Murphy
"My mom taught me there's always a way to channel your fears into love," says Murphy, who sprung back into action when mom Sharon had an MRI last year – after undergoing a lumpectomy and axillary dissection in 1995 – and discovered new cancer cells. "I was there for every step of the way," says Murphy, 26. "I went to every doctor's appointment and chemo session." Sharon, now 52, had a double mastectomy and wrapped up her chemo just in time to attend her daughter's Little Black Book premiere in July. "Every day, she's getting better and better," says Murphy. "She's just an exemplary example of strength and courage."
