Valerie Harper Has Terminal Brain Cancer, Has Only Months To Live
March 6 2013, Published 9:51 a.m. ET
In a truly shocking revelation, beloved TV star Valerie Harper has announced she has terminal brain cancer, and only months to live.
Harper -- who first charmed audiences as outspoken New Yorker Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off, Rhoda -- received the devastating diagnosis on January 15, she reveals to PEOPLE in its new issue.
"All my life, people have had a connection to me because of Rhoda," she told the magazine. "Now there are things I want to share."
Harper, 73, said she has a rare condition called leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition that occurs when cancer cells spread into the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the brain.
Sadly, doctors told her she has as little as three months to live.
The TV legend said receiving the grim diagnosis "hit me like a sledgehammer," calling it a "transformative moment" in her life.
"'Incurable' is such a concise word -- I was terrified," she said. "Cancer makes real what we try to obscure from ourselves. We spend our lifetimes thinking, 'I'm never going to die.' But cancer, says, 'Hey, not so fast.'
"I don't think of dying… I think of being here now."
Harper said she'll likely spent the next few months at her home immersed in her favorite hobby: gardening.
"The garden sounds good," she said. "I have plants I want to pull the yellow leaves off of, but I haven't because of so many things have taken precedence. But I think I'll give it one last whack."
Harper, who previously battled l