It looks like breast cancer affects celebrities as well as common people. Christina Applegate, the actress who rose to fame thanks to her appearance in 'Married... With Children,' was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, the disease is in an early stage and therefore the actress has a better chance of recovering.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, lagging behind lung cancer. The disease has 5 stages, starting with 0 and ending with 4. The 0 stage describes the noninvasive stage of the disease, while in the 4th one, the disease has spread to other parts of the body as well, and is very hard to cure.

Applegate's cancer was discovered because of an MRI that her doctor ordered. According to the New York Times, Ame Van Iden, the actress' publicist, said that “Benefiting from early detection through a doctor-ordered MRI, the cancer is not life threatening.”

What is ironic is that the actress is scheduled to appear in the ABC, CBS and NBC one hour television special that is dedicated to raising funds for cancer research. The show, which is called “Stand Up to Cancer,” will be aired on September, 5.

Besides the late '80s sitcom 'Married... With Children,' Applegate played in other TV series too, one of them, 'Samantha Who,' bringing the actress both an Emmy and a Golden Globe nomination. The actress won an Emmy for guest starring in a 'Friends' episode, and was nominated for a Tony award for her sole role on Broadway in the 'Sweet Charity' musical.