HomeCelebrities with Adrenal problems
Twilight Star Jackson Rathbone Raises Adrenal Cancer Awareness
Jackson Rathbone, one of the stars of the blockbuster Twilight series, is raising adrenal cancer awareness in young Hollywood with his band, 100 Monkeys. The star lost his friend and fellow musician, Spencer Bell, to adrenal cancer in 2006. Bell was just 20 years old when he died from the disease. The Spencer Bell Legacy Concert is set for April 24, 2010, in Dallas, TX. Rathbone recently directed a music video (below) featuring one of Bell's songs, Beautiful, More So. The concert will benefit adrenal cancer research. Jackson Rathbone will soon prove that he is aware of health issues. In April 2010, the Jasper Hale of "The Twilight Saga" film series and his band 100 Monkeys will fly to Texas to host a concert that aims to raise awareness of adrenal cancer, the Spencer Bell Legacy concert. At the upcoming gig, Jackson and 100 Monkeys are going to pay tribute to musician Spencer Bell, who passed away in December 2006 after suffering adrenal cancer. They will join The Stevedores, Drew and the Medicinal Pen, and Tin Tin Can to participate in the concert which will include playing several songs from Spencer's albums. Jackson Rathbone was last seen reprising his Jasper Hale character in "The Twilight Saga's New Moon". He can next be seen starring as Sokka in "The Last Airbender" before hitting U.S. theaters with "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse".
Jane Fonda
The two-time Academy Award-winning actress has been open about her struggles with bulimia and adrenal insufficiency, which she developed as a result of long-term eating disorders.
Brooke Shields
The actress and model revealed in her memoir "Down Came the Rain" that she struggled with postpartum depression, and during her journey to recovery, she was diagnosed with Cushing's disease.
Janeane Garofalo
The comedian and actress has spoken publicly about her experience with Cushing's syndrome, which she developed as a side effect of medication prescribed for a misdiagnosed anxiety disorder.
Brooke Burns
The actress and model Brooke Burns revealed that she was diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome, which led to her experiencing symptoms such as weight gain and high blood pressure.
Mary Tyler Moore
The iconic actress, best known for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," had type 1 diabetes and underwent surgery for a benign tumor related to Cushing's syndrome.
Brian Dunkleman
The former co-host of the first season of "American Idol," Brian Dunkleman, shared on social media that he had been diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome.
David Sedaris
The humorist and author revealed in his essay collection "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" that he had a tumor, later identified as a pheochromocytoma, removed from his adrenal gland.
Bret Michaels
The lead singer of the rock band Poison experienced a health scare related to a brain hemorrhage and discovered during testing that he had a hole in his heart and also had a warning stroke, both attributed to complications from a previous pheochromocytoma.
President Eisenhower
President Eisenhower experienced an acute heart attack in September 1955 and died of ischemic cardiomyopathy 14 years later. The autopsy revealed, unexpectedly, a 1.5-cm pheochromocytoma in the left adrenal gland. In view of these hitherto unreported findings, the investigators analyzed the blood pressure pattern of the president throughout his life. Although hypertension was documented on and off from 1930 until his death, it is unknown whether the pheochromocytoma was present during his presidency. During the later part of President Eisenhower's life, excessive systolic and diastolic blood pressure spikes were documented, although he concomitantly had severe ischemic cardiomyopathy. In conclusion, most likely, the pheochromocytoma was the underlying cause of this erratic blood pressure pattern and may have worsened the course of the president's ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Am J Cardiol. 2007 May 1;99(9):1325-9. The president and the pheochromocytoma. Messerli FH, Loughlin KR, Messerli AW, Welch WR.
President John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy's Addison's disease, which came to light only after his election in 1960, was most likely caused by a rare autoimmune disease, according to a Navy doctor who reviewed Kennedy's medical records. The disease, autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2, or APS 2, also caused Kennedy's hypothyroidism, according to a report published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Hard though it is to believe these days -- when a celebrity's smallest sneeze is analyzed -- Kennedy's family and advisors were able to keep his medical history virtually secret. Kennedy, at 43 the youngest president ever elected, was portrayed as healthy and vibrant. In reality, he suffered various problems controlled by a daily regimen of steroids and other drugs. Addison's disease is characterized by the withering of the adrenal glands, which produce adrenaline and other hormones. Symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, muscle weakness, weight loss, difficulty standing up, nausea, sweating, and changes in mood and personality. Tuberculosis accounts for about 20% of cases; the rest are autoimmune in origin. During the 1960 campaign, Kennedy's opponents said he had Addison's. His physicians released a cleverly worded statement saying that he did not have Addison's disease caused by tuberculosis, and the matter was dropped. Kennedy collapsed twice because of the disease: once at the end of a parade during an election campaign and once on a congressional visit to Britain. Kennedy was diagnosed with Addison's in the 1940s. In 1955 he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, an insufficient output of thyroid hormones. Symptoms can include many of those associated with Addison's, as well as paleness, intolerance to cold, depression and a low heart rate. Dr. Lee R. Mandel, a Navy Medical Corps endocrinologist in Chesapeake, Va., was allowed to review Kennedy's medical records at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum last year, and he also corresponded with many of Kennedy's physicians. Mandel concluded that the hypothyroidism and Addison's resulted from APS 2. Mandel found that Kennedy took a host of drugs and other remedies during his presidency: 500 milligrams of vitamin C twice daily; 10 milligrams of hydrocortisone daily; 2.5 milligrams of prednisone twice daily; 10 milligrams of methyltestosterone daily; 25 micrograms of liothyronine twice daily; 0.1 milligrams fludrocortisone daily; and diphenoxylate hydrochloride and atropine sulfate, two tablets as needed. Liothyronine is a synthetic thyroid hormone. Diphenoxylate/atropine, commonly known as Lomotil, is used to treat diarrhea. The testosterone was administered to combat the weight loss and gonadal atrophy associated with the steroids he was taking. One characteristic of autoimmune diseases such as APS 2 is that close relatives often are affected as well. Kennedy's younger sister Eunice had Addison's, and John F. Kennedy Jr., his son, suffered from Graves' disease, in which the thyroid is overactive.
"Los Angeles Times" February 25, 2007 | Claire Noland, Times Staff Writer wrote the following article titled "John F. Kennedy's Addison's disease was probably caused by rare autoimmune disease"
"President Kennedy's Addison's disease, which came to light only after his election in 1960, was most likely caused by a rare autoimmune disease, according to a Navy doctor who reviewed Kennedy's medical records. The disease, autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2, or APS 2, also caused Kennedy's hypothyroidism, according to a report published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Hard though it is to believe these days -- when a celebrity's smallest sneeze is analyzed -- Kennedy's family and advisors were able to keep his medical history virtually secret."
King Henry VIII
Immortalized as a domineering king, notorious philanderer, and the unlikely benefactor of a new church, Henry VIII became a legend during his own reign. He became England’s most infamous ruler. After 35 years in power, Henry VIII was a bloated, hideously obese, black-humoured old man, rarely seen in public. Historian Robert Hutchinson has theorized that he has had Cushing’s Syndrome.
Robert Hutchinson. Young Henry: The Rise of Henry VIII. Thomas Dunne Books; Reprint edition (October 30, 2012)
The Last Days of Henry VIII: Conspiracies, Treason and Heresy at the Court of the Dying Tyrant by Robert Hutchinson, William Morrow (September 20, 2005).
