Update!

Valerie Harper: "I Am Absolutely Cancer-Free"

Actress had been diagnosed last year with terminal brain cancer and was initially given three to six months to live

By Peter Gicas Apr 16, 2014 3:10 PMTags
Valerie Harper Paul Redmond/WireImage

Update: Valerie Harper issued a statement via the Hallmark Channel on Wednesday saying, "In response to a recent erroneous quote concerning my health, I am not ‘absolutely cancer-free.' I wish I were. Right now what I am is cautiously optimistic about my present condition and I have hope for the future.

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Valerie Harper has revealed she is "absolutely cancer-free."

The actress, best known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on the '70s TV classic The Mary Tyler Moore Show, shared the good news with Closer Weekly.

"My last scans have been positive, and my doctors are very happy," the 74-year-old star told the magazine. "[The oncologist] looked at the scans and said, 'Oh my god, Valerie, this is very encouraging!'"

When asked if she is in remission, Harper said, "My doctor doesn't use that term. He likes to say, 'I give you treatment, and it's either responsive or nonresponsive — and you are having a phenomenal response.'"

In March 2013, Harper broke the news that she had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Harper said that numerous tests showed she had leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare disorder in which cancer cells metastasize into the fluid-filled membrane enveloping the brain.

At the time, doctors had given the TV icon as little as three months to live.

However, Harper remained upbeat.

During an appearance on Good Morning America shortly after her initial diagnosis, the Rhoda star told co-anchor (and cancer survivor) Robin Roberts, "Everybody, don't go to the funeral until the day of the funeral. Live this day."

Indeed.

(Originally published on April. 16, 2014 at 8:10 a.m. PDT)