Valerie Harper Has Terminal Brain Cancer

It is with sadness we report that Valerie Harper, best known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and its spin-off ‘Rhoda,’ has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She says she is determined to live her last months to the fullest.

On Jan. 15, Harper was told she had a leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition in which cancer cells invade the fluid surrounding the brain. She was informed by doctors that she had a mere three months left to live.

The 73-year-old Harper, a non-smoker who beat lung cancer in 2009, told PEOPLE, “I don’t think of dying. I think of being here now … I’m well past my expiration date already.”

The four-time Emmy winner and one-time Golden Globe recipient’s courage and determination has received praise and well wishes from her colleagues in the entertainment community.

Our thanks to the folks at starcrush.com for the informative email.