Marcia Cross is speaking out about anal cancer in hopes of ending the stigma surrounding the disease.
The former “Desperate Housewives” star appeared on “CBS This Morning” Wednesday to give a health update more than a year after her diagnosis and shared that she and husband Tom Mahoney’s cancers were likely related.
In 2009, Mahoney, 61, was diagnosed with throat cancer. Doctors reportedly told Cross, 57, that the same type of HPV that triggered her husband’s disease could cause cancer in the anus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV, the human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US and affects around 79 million Americans. Aside from cancer in the throat and anus, it can affect the cervix and genitals but can be prevented by a vaccine.
“I know that there are people who are ashamed,” Cross told CBS. “You have cancer! Do you have to then also feel ashamed like you did something bad because it took up residence in your anus? I mean, come on, really. There’s enough on your plate.”
The actress said she was able to get through her diagnosis with the help of a group of girlfriends, whom she called her “Anal Angels.”
She added, “I kept saying if this doesn’t kill me, it’s the best thing that could’ve ever happened because the experience of being loved like that? It blew my mind.”
Both Cross and Mahoney are in remission.