BRAVE Valerie Harper, who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, suffered a terrifying collapse just after her gut-wrenching elimination from “Dancing with the Stars” on Oct. 7.
Sources say the “Rhoda” star was so frail during her last performance on Season 17 of “DWTS” that she had to be helped in and out of her chair.
After privately admitting to the show’s co-host, Tom Bergeron, that she “recently got some bad news again,” friends are now worried the courageous TV legend’s rare brain cancer symptoms have returned.
“Valerie left ‘DWTS’ in a very weakened state,” disclosed a set insider. “When she tried to stand on her own, she collapsed right back down in her chair.
“It was a frightening reminder that, despite her brave and positive attitude, she is still fighting cancer.”
After following up the previous week’s 16-point cha-cha with an 18-point Viennese waltz in Week 4 of the show, Valerie and her partner, dance pro Tristan MacManus, got the boot.
“My knees are killing me,” Valerie moaned afterward, lifting her gold lame gown to reveal two knees wrapped in heavy bandages.
WHILE Valerie has been complaining about her knee problems, a source said: “It appears her situation is much more grave than her torn meniscus.
Now her friends are worried that Valerie’s health has taken a serious turn for the worse.”
Valerie, 74, announced in March that she was battling a rare, deadly form of brain cancer and was given only months to live. Incredibly, her cancer seemed to be close to remission, prompting the actress – who shot to fame in the ’70s on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” – to sign up for the celebrity dance competition.
After joining “DWTS,” she declared that she didn’t “have any symptoms” of the disease. But another source points out that being “symptom-free” is very different from being “cancer-free.”
“She’s far from being out of the woods,” the source continued. “She’s just trying to remain positive, hoping the cancer doesn’t get worse.”
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