Catherine O’Hara died on January 30 and the underlying cause was called rectal cancer.
A British Columbia woman who was treated for colorectal cancer says she hopes news that the Canadian acting legend had rectal cancer when she died will help more people realize how common the cancer is and talk more about it.
According to Toronto star, Mary De Vera is approaching her 10-year anniversary since being diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer and says she has seen advocacy groups in Canada and the U.S. use O’Hara’s death as a reason to raise awareness about colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer in Canada.
The Associated Press revealed that according to the beloved actress’ death certificate, her actual cause of death was a pulmonary embolism (PE), which happens when a blood clot blocks an artery in the lungs.
The certificate also listed rectal cancer as an underlying cause of death for O’Hara, who was 71 when she died, raising the possibility that the cancer played a role in causing her pulmonary embolism.
Speak with YOURSELF magazine’s Michelle Bloom, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and director of NYU Langone’s Cardio-Oncology Program, said, “Cancer makes your blood more susceptible to clotting, and certain types of tumors release substances that make the blood even stickier.”
“Plus, chemo can damage blood vessels. And if you have cancer, you’re more likely to need to be in bed for longer periods of time, which also increases your risk,” added Dr. Bloom to it.
Some symptoms of a pulmonary embolism include:
- Shortness of breath: “This may feel like you’re getting out of breath while doing activities that weren’t a problem before, like going up the stairs,” says Dr. Bloom.
- Dizziness and fainting: due to a drop in blood pressure.
- Chest pain: “Pay attention to any kind of discomfort, or feeling like you can’t breathe deeply or that there’s pain when you try,” says Dr. Bloom.
- Pain or swelling in one leg: Typically, a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or blood clot that can lead to a pulmonary embolism occurs in one leg, but not both. So pay attention to one-sided pain.
- Fever: This can be caused by an inflammatory response to the death of tissue in your lungs, which happens when there is no substantial blood flow.
- Palpitations or palpitations: Your heart may be working overtime to push blood through the artery blockage.
- A bloody cough: Dying tissue in your lungs can cause blood to flow into your airways.
