Kathy, Eight Years Later

March 21st, 2012
11:04 AM ET
Why Kathy Bates kept her cancer private
More than eight years after battling ovarian cancer, Kathy Bates is sharing her story.

The Oscar-winner opened up about her struggle for the first time on “Anderson” - Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show - to air on Thursday.

“I was contracted to go into a movie at that time,” Bates said, referencing her 2004 flick “Little Black Book,” in which she starred alongside Brittany Murphy (who died in December 2010 at 32 years old). “But my doctors at the time, they had to get insurance approval and all of that so, you know, I was very quiet about it. And I had to go back to work right away.”

On her decision to stay mum, the “Harry’s Law” actress said, “I don’t know how to explain it. Nobody else really knows what you’re going through except another cancer patient. Even though your family is supportive and surrounds you, I just got to a point where I would go to chemo by myself and just really go through it on my own. I guess it’s something that I felt I had to face on my own.”

And while Bates doesn’t regret the way she handled the situation, she said, “If I go through it again, I think I’d probably be a lot more open about it.