Illness and Death
On August 9, 2005 Reeve announced that, although she had never smoked cigarettes, she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Reeve chose to disclose her illness after The National Enquirer announced that it planned to make the information public. Scientists have speculated that Reeve's cancer may have been caused by the second hand smoke she inhaled while singing in nightclubs earlier in her career.
In 2005, Reeve received the "Mother of the Year Award" from the American Cancer Society for her dedication and determination in raising her son after the loss of her husband. In her final public appearances, Reeve stated that the tumor had responded to therapy and was shrinking. She appeared at Madison Square Garden on January 12, 2006, and sang the Carole King song "Now and Forever" in honor of New York Rangers hockey player Mark Messier, whose number was retired that evening. On the night that she died, instead of having a live performer sing the national anthem at Madison Square Garden prior to the Rangers' game, a recording of Reeve singing was played.
Reeve died on March 6, 2006, at the age of 44, at Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She is survived by her son, her father, her two sisters, and her husband's two grown children.
Episode 16 of the fifth season of Smallville titled "Hypnotic" is dedicated to her and the film Superman Returns is dedicated to both her and Christopher.
Her body was cremated and her ashes were given to her friends and family.
Read more about this topic: Dana Reeve
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