Gilda Radner, one of the popular stars of America’s popular television programme Saturday Night Live died of ovarian cancer on May 20, 1989. When Fighting Ovarian Cancer - Doctors Don’t Know Who’s at Risk, or Why appeared in the Washington Post ten days later, the media had finally let ovarian cancer out of the closet. It could strike anyone, even a famous comedienne who meant so much to so many.
When the New York Times published “Research Links Diet and Infertility Factors to Ovarian Cancer,” by medical writer Larry Altman, on July 25, 1989, Gilda’s husband, Gene Wilder, wrote the author to ask some pointed questions. Altman urged him to contact Dr. M. Steven Piver at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.
Wilder and Piver met via telephone and immediately recognized their shared common desire. From that time, they have worked together to communicate to the general public what is known about ovarian cancer. When Dr. Piver decided to write Gilda‘s Disease, he asked Wilder to help him by sharing what he had learned during Gilda’s struggle so that others might benefit from their ordeal. Wilder and Piver have worked diligently to ensure that the material provided here is accessible and informative without being too scary. The result is a book that offers both medical and personal insights into ovarian cancer.
Gilda‘s Disease is the first book of its kind to be written by a cancer surgeon. Piver discusses the likely causes of ovarian cancer, steps women can take to prevent the disease, diagnostic tests, the thirty types of ovarian cancer, and the treatments. Wilder offers a tender and touching portrayal of Gilda’s battle and a personal perspective on how the disease affects the women who suffer from it and the people who love them. Excerpts from Gilda Radner’s popular autobiography, It’s Always Something, along with examples of the many letters her fans wrote to Wilder after her death, paint a picture of love and admiration for a woman who never failed to inspire others in their efforts to confront cancer or the loss of a loved one.
All royalties will benefit two organizations honoring Gilda’s memory: “Gilda’s Club,” a free, nonresidential support community located in New York City for people with cancer, their families, and friends; and “The Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry” in Buffalo, New York, which tracks women with a family history of ovarian cancer and advises them of their risk for developing the disease and methods of prevention.
M. STEVEN PIVER, M.D., is Chief of the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He has published hundreds of articles in medical journals and has appeared as an authority on ovarian cancer on 20/20, Nightline, The Oprah Winfrey Show and other US national television programmes.
GENE WILDER, a veteran of stage, screen, and television, has moved audiences to laughter and tears with his wonderful performances and genuineness.
184 pages (Photographs) Publication date 23rd January, 1997
ISBN 1-57392-089-4