“What’s Happening!!” Actress Danielle Spencer (‘Dee’) Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

Former child star from the ’70s sitcom “What’s Happening!!“, Danielle Spencer, is facing a new challenger in life. She recently revealed to Black America Web that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, just one month ago. She says that her diagnosis took her by surprise and she hopes that her story will encourage women to seek screening.

“Surgery is definitely one of the options. I’m trying to get as many opinions as possible, but it does look like that is what I’m going to do. Hopefully after that, there won’t be any chemotherapy or radiation. With everything that I’ve been through with the spinal cord injury, I know God is not going to give me another affliction. So I was completely shocked when the doctors told me.”

The spinal cord injury that she is referring to is from a 1977 car accident, injuring her spine and killing her stepfather. Symptoms of the injury showed up 26 years later, leaving her near paralysis for some time.

Spencer left the entertainment industry and went on to pursue her education at Tuskegee University. She obtained a degree in veterinary science and became a vet. Recently she became inducted into the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

She has also written a book about her life as a child actor titled, ‘Through the Fire: Journal of a Child Star’.

We wish her the best during this difficult time in her life.

Written By: Athena Thomas of stylingonabudget.com.