Jeffrey Mayer/Getty ImagesFarrah Fawcett may be in the hospital, but her condition may not be as dire as previously reported.
Over the weekend, RadarOnline broke the news of her hospitalization, reporting that the 62-year-old Charlie's Angel star's had slipped into unconsciousness after a recurrence of cancer and that her loved ones, including ex-husband Ryan O'Neal, are keeping vigil by her bedside.
Now, her doctor and a producer friend have issued separate statements seeking to clarify her condition.
"Although it is usually against her nature to correct false or exaggerated stories that originate in tabloid-style reports," said producer Craig Nevius, "Farrah is allowing this statement out of appreciation for her fans, who have offered their constant support throughout her fight, as well as out of concern for the countless other cancer patients who have written her over the last two and a half years in order to tell her that they are following her story in the hope that there is hope."
Nevius added that Fawcett is expected to return home in a few days. "Tonight, Farrah has hope, and she hopes that others will continue to hold onto theirs."
Meanwhile, her physician, Dr. Lawrence Piro, tells E! News that Fawcett's hospital stay is not the result of her cancer but rather complications she suffered following a procedure she had done in Germany.
“She’s doing very well,” said Piro. “She’s recovering from this hematoma in her abdominal wall and she’s in good spirits.”
The physician clarified that the blood clot was the reason Fawcett was photographed in a wheelchair last week.
"She could have stayed in Germany to recuperate for a day or two, but she was really very anxious to come home," he said.
During the nine-hour flight back to L.A., Piro said there was "a small amount of bleeding in one of the muscles of her abdomen, making a hematoma, which was quite painful."
"Actually, it was painful for her to walk, which is why she was in that wheelchair. And that pain, which was coming from the hematoma, had nothing directly to do with the cancer," the doctor said.
He said the '70s pinup should be out of the hospital sometime this week.
“It’s coming along nicely and I hope if everything continues the way it’s looking that we’ll be able to release her later in the week," Piro said. "She’s able to walk around and is fine in that regard.”
As for Fawcett’s prognosis following the cancer’s reported spread to her liver, Piro was mum.
“That’s not something that I’m talking about today to preserve her privacy,” he said. “I’m just talking about the current situation.”
Fawcett was first diagnosed with colorectal cancer in September 2006 and, after a series of treatments, declared that she was cancer free four months later. However, the actress faced a recurrence of the disease in 2007 and traveled to Germany with O'Neal for embryonic stem cell treatment, an alternative method not available in the United States.
—Additional reporting by Whitney English