SERIOUS diseases and illnesses have traditionally been hush-hush topics in Hollywood circles. Not any more.

Especially when it's about cancer.

More and more celebrities are now stepping forward to speak up about their battle with the debilitating disease.

And some have openly discussed their experiences with invasive surgery and chemotherapy treatments.

The most recent was TV actress Christina Applegate.

In August, the 36-year-old publicly shared that she had undergone a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

A month later, she bravely strutted down the red carpet at the Emmy Awards in a shimmery, off-shoulder gown, declaring: 'It's a great day. I've got a pretty dress on and lipstick.'

Aussie pop singer Kylie Minogue also put a public face to the illness when she cut a tour short after finding out she had breast cancer in 2005.

She lost her hair to chemotherapy but happily showed off her shorn head in a series of photographs after her treatment.

Likewise, singer Sheryl Crow, 46, announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2006 and underwent a lumpectomy.

She poured her feelings about her battle with the disease in her latest album Detours, which was released this year.

Other celebrities coming forward with their own experiences include Melissa Etheridge, Olivia Newton-John, Cynthia Nixon, Anastacia and Farrah Fawcett.

Even locally, celebrities like Koh Chieng Mun and Dongfang Billy have spoken out about their battle with the disease.

But sharing such personal experiences, especially in an industry where looks, health and image are everything, is not easy.

On Ellen Degeneres' talk show recently, Applegate revealed how she decided to keep mum about her cancer 'for about five weeks' while continuing to work on the set of her TV show Samantha Who?

'I told my make-up and hair people that are really close to me, just so I had a protection wall,' she said.

Singapore cancer survivors The New Paper spoke to say they can appreciate the courage it takes to talk about the disease.

Ms Rosalind Ng, a 35-year-old freelancer who had breast cancer in 1999, believes it is much harder for celebrities to talk about it because 'they've got more considerations' in terms of their career.

Yet, they also find it encouraging that celebrities are speaking up because it helps to raise awareness of the disease.

Also, it helps focus attention on the need for research and early detection.

Since her surgery, Applegate has appeared on a cancer research fund-raiser Stand Up To Cancer, on TV and founded the Right Action For Women website which encourages early breast cancer detection.

Etheridge, 47, who had cancer in 2004, has since released several songs profiting breast cancer research.

And Newton-John, 60, is the face of Liv Kit, a kit for home-testing breast examination.

Locally, Billy founded the charity organisation CareCancer Society in 2003 after he discovered he had leukaemia in 1993.

Ms Ooi Soo Nee, a 47-year-old housewife, believes that these celebrity cancer survivors and their stories of triumph help lift the stigma that cancer is 'a death sentence'.

And it's not just cancer patients, but also the general public who benefit.

Mr Michael Lee, 59, a sales manager who had colon cancer in 2004, said celebrities are 'effective messengers' who can help spread the healthy living message.

In the case of Dongfang Billy, he said: 'He's popular; all the aunties listen to him and follow what he advises.'

Said Ms Anusaya Chia, 54, a project director, who had breast cancer in 1998: 'People associate with the celebs and I feel it brings the message home. Even if it's only 5 to 10 per cent (who respond), it's still 5 to 10 per cent of people who're now more aware or 'saved' in that sense.

'It's a wake up call when people go, 'Goodness, she's got it' and then they realise that anyone can get it as well.'

In the US, CBS anchor Katie Couric has long campaigned for cancer awareness after she lost her husband and sister to the disease.

She also famously underwent a colonoscopy on air during the Today Show.

A report in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that colonoscopy rates jumped more than 20 per cent in the months after the programme was aired, a phenomenon the researchers dubbed 'the Couric effect'.

Dr Robert Mayer, from Harvard Medical School, told WebMD: 'It has a tremendous impact when someone people admire is willing to talk about and undergo seemingly unpleasant testing.'

But precisely because of their position and the influence they wield, there may also be negative side effects.

Billy, for example, had to fend off accusations that he was using his illness to publicise his slimming courses.

Said Ms Florence Lim, 57, a nurse who had breast cancer in 2000: 'If they're doing it to advance a product, then I won't find it acceptable.

'If they go 'I drink XYZ brand supplements which is why I'm still healthy,' then I don't find it appropriate. If they dispense simple advice like, 'Oh, I ate a lot of vegetables during my treatment period,' then it's okay.'

Hollywood cancer survivors have also been criticised for being paid, some as much as US$1 million ($1.48 million), to stump for companies that sell cancer-fighting drugs.

Cycling champ Lance Armstrong, for example, did a series of ads for Bristol-Myers Squibb, the drug company which makes three drugs that, he claimed, cured him of testicular cancer.

'Celebrities go on TV and they make people feel this drug is the cure-all,' Dr Marc Siegel, an associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, told AP.

At the end of the day, cancer survivors say the best carrier of the awareness message is still the everyday Joe. Ms Ng said: 'The person on the street would probably be more understanding of a neighbour who has cancer.'

Additional reporting by Eoin Ee, newsroom intern

The above article was first published in The New Paper on Oct 23, 2008