Cristina Cacciotti, the daughter of the ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’ actress, Valerie Harper,posted message on her official twitter account on behalf of her father, Tony Cacciotti, stating, “My dad has asked me to pass on this message: ‘My beautiful caring wife of nearly 40 years has passed away at 10:06am, after years of fighting cancer. She will never, ever be forgotten. Rest In Peace, mia Valeria. -Anthony.’”
Harper had to fight multiple cancers for 10 years. She was not keeping well since her diagnosis of lung cancer in 2009. In 2013, a doctor told Harper that she would live only for three more months as she was diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare form of cancer that spreads to the membranes located nearby brain. However, against all odds, she successfully underwent chemotherapy and even participated in the show named Dancing With The Stars in the same year.
People commented, ‘She’s on her way to death and quickly,’” she informed Fox News on September 2017. “Now it’s five years instead of three months.”
Again in July, Harper’s health received a lot of attention while her family launched a GoFundMe campaign to obtain monetary help for the actress cancer treatment.
“Valerie is currently taking a multitude of medications and chemotherapy drugs as well as going through extreme physical and painful challenges now with around the clock, 24/7 care immediately needed which is not covered by insurance,” her longtime friend Deanna wrote on the page. “This is just part of the daily cost that is without a doubt a financial burden that could never be met alone.”
Her husband commented on Facebook that specialists suggested him to “put Val in Hospice care and I can’t [because of our 40 years of shared commitment to each other] and I won’t because of the amazing good deeds she has graced us with while she’s been here on earth.”
He added, “For those of you who have been in this position, you will totally understand that ‘it’s hard letting go.’ So as long as I’m able and capable, I’ll be where I belong right beside her.”
The New York-born actress began her professional journey as a chorus girl and dancer on Broadway. She is still in the minds of the public due to her role as Rhoda Morgenstern “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” She is the recipient of the Primetime Emmy Award three times for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Harper was later seen in an American Television sitcom The Hogan Family, which was later titled as Valerie’s family.
