Suzanne Somers reveals breast cancer has returned

Wellness entrepreneur and former “Three’s Company” star Suzanne Somers is fighting a recurrence of the breast cancer that she had first battled in 2000.

“Since I have been taking time off from work, many of you have asked for more details about my health.” Somers, 76, wrote Monday on social media. “As you know, I had breast cancer two decades ago, and every now and then it pops up again, and I continue to bat it down. I have used the best alternative and conventional treatments to combat it.”

Her breast cancer, which she had revealed on “Larry King Live” in 2001, “is not new territory for me,” she continued. “I know how to put on my battle gear and I’m a fighter.” Her husband and business manager, Toronto-born Alan Hamel, whose age is generally given as 87 although New York State arrival documentation indicates 89, “has been by my side every step of the way. I can’t even explain how much he has done for me. If it’s even possible, we are even closer than ever.” She thanked her family for their support and for “keeping the business running.”

She also thanked fans “for the continued love and support,” and concluded, “It’s only about who you love and who loves you — and I love you!”

She additionally told the syndicated entertainment-news program “Entertainment Tonight” in a statement Monday, "I have been living with cancer since my 20s,” either referring to loved ones with the disease, since she was first diagnosed in her 50s, or to an unrevealed even earlier bout. “And every time … I continue to bat it back. I do my best not to let this insidious disease control me. It’s a recurrence of my breast cancer. Like any cancer patient, when you [hear the] dreaded, ‘It’s back’ you get a pit in your stomach. Then I put on my battle gear and go to war. This is familiar battleground for me and I’m very tough."

The statement went on to say, "My cancer is a disease that affected my whole family and once it hit me in my 20s, Alan and I got even closer and every moment of every day was precious. We have not spent even one day apart in over 42 years. That’s the big upside of my cancer," she said, adding that “my incredible family has been unbelievably supportive every step of the way."

Somers, who has been married to Hamel since 1977, has a son, businessperson Bruce Somers Jr., from her 1963-65 first marriage. She also is stepmother to Hamel's adult children Leslie, a fashion designer, and Stephen, a writer-producer, from his 1958-71 marriage to the late fashion illustrator and author Marilyn Shapiro Hamel.