Joined by her husband Kurt Iswarienko and oncologist Dr. Lawrence Piro, the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star helped man the phones to raise funds for cancer charities and mingled with other stars.
Smiling on the red carpet, Shannen, who first revealed her diagnosis in August, 2015, said, “I’ve been given a really interesting opportunity and one that in a way, I kind of feel blessed (about).
“Cancer has, in a strange way, done some amazing things for me. It’s allowed me to be more me, like much more in touch with who I am, and much more vulnerable and the person that I always was, but I think it got hidden behind a lot of other stuff.”
And the actress told reporters she couldn’t stay away from the star-studded fundraiser, adding, “I stand here to support every single person who has cancer and I stand here to also support the husbands and the family that has to go through it, because it’s not just the people who have cancer. It’s the families too that go through it that it’s very hard on.”
Her doctor informed the media that Shannen’s positive attitude is paying off – she is almost done with chemotherapy after beginning the treatment in July (16).
“We have just a few more weeks of treatment, and then we’ll be nearly finished with the chemotherapy,” Dr. Piro said.
Bearded Bradley Cooper, who produced this year’s (16) telecast at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, was also happy to meet the press on the red carpet before the serious matter of raising cash began. The actor arrived at the event with cancer patients Mitch Carbon and Emily Whitehead.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Ken Jeong, Josh Gad, Matt Bomer, and Kathy Bates were all part of this year’s fundraiser.
Highlights included an appearance by Vice President Joe Biden, who lost his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015, and Celine Dion’s heartfelt performance of new song Recovery, which ended the telecast.
Introduced by Hanks, the singer honoured her late husband Rene Angelil, who lost his battle with cancer earlier this year (16), stating, “I miss Rene every day”. She then performed the song Pink wrote for her, calling it “an unexpected gift from an amazing artist”.
As she ended her emotional performance, Celine turned and stared at a photo of her father, which was beamed up on a large screen at the back of the stage. All three lost their lives to the disease.
The audience gave her a standing ovation as Celine fought back tears and hugged executive producer Cooper, who urged viewers to give generously to the cause.
