Marcia Gay Harden to host TV show “Sharing Miracles”
Marcia Gay Harden (Associated Press photo)
Every Sunday in October in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, “Sharing Miracles,” a 30-minute public affairs television program that tells the compelling and inspirational stories of real patients, will air on 185 stations around the country. In Oklahoma City, it will air Sundays in October from 11 to 11:30 a.m. on KOCO-5.
The show will feature Academy Award-winning actress and patient advocate Marcia Gay Harden.
Harden has starred in the movies “Miller’s Crossing,” “Meet Joe Black,” “Pollock,” “Into the Wild,” “First Wives Club,” “”Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Homicide: Life on the Street,” and she has made multiple appearances on both “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
More recently, Harden found inspiration for her role as patient advocate during character research for the film “Rails and Ties.”
“My character in Rails and Ties had Stage Four breast cancer and a mastectomy, so as part of researching my role we brought a group of breast cancer survivors to set,” Harden said in a news release. “Meeting these women was pretty transformative for me and helped me realize what a problem breast cancer is. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, so in portraying women with breast cancer in some of my movies, it’s a chance to bring real issues like that to the consciousness of America.”
Harden’s appearance on “Sharing Miracles” coincides with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in the latest episode she shares her passion for patient advocacy. She said in the release, “My job as an advocate is to encourage women to get mammograms, because prevention is the first step. Cancer doesn’t know color, creed, finances, or background; it affects us all. It’s really been a pleasure to speak up about the importance of breast cancer prevention.”
The Academy Award winner’s portrayal of breast cancer victims in her films has given Harden a chance to help patients nationwide. She says, “I also played a woman struggling with breast cancer in my recent movie, ‘Home.’ It’s tough to portray a character with cancer, but for me, the tougher the role the better. In this case, with cancer, as an actor you know you’re doing something that will speak to so many people. These roles may be difficult, but they have provided me with a wonderful opportunity to help people.”
Previous episodes of “Sharing Miracles” have featured Emmy Award-winning actor Joey Pantoliano, who suffers from clinical depression; Olympic gold medal winners Mark Spitz (high cholesterol) and Bruce Jenner (attention deficit disorder); syndicated television talk show host Montel Williams, who suffers from multiple sclerosis; four-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Greg Louganis, who is affected by HIV; actor and “Leave It To Beaver” star Jerry Mathers, who is affected by diabetes; pop icon and Broadway star Deborah Gibson, who has suffered from devastating anxiety attacks; and North Carolina State University women’s basketball coach Kay Yow, a breast cancer survivor. Future programs will highlight NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl Champion quarterback Len Dawson, who battled prostate cancer, and former Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro running back Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, who has asthma.
The new episode debuts this Sunday.
For information on the show, go to www.sharingmiracles.com.
-BAM
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Breast Cancer as with other types of cancer, can be prevented by early intervention..`*