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Erin Moran Cancer Type, Details About Final Days Revealed

By Inquisitr Staff
Published on: 03:32 PST, Apr 25, 2017

The type of cancer Erin Moran died from was revealed on Monday, along with details of how she lived out the remaining days of her life. Shortly after news broke on Monday morning that the 56-year-old former Happy Days star died from cancer, reports surfaced that Erin Moran was diagnosed with throat cancer just a few months ago. Details also emerged on Monday from one of Erin Moran’s former Happy Days co-stars about how she lived out her final days while undergoing cancer treatment.

The Inquisitr previously reported that Erin Moran’s cause of death was likely complications from late stage cancer. According to early autopsy results, Erin Moran “succumbed to complications of stage 4 cancer.” Indiana’s Harrison County Coroner’s Office revealed that Erin Moran suffered from cancer, although the type of cancer was not disclosed in early reports. Erin Moran’s secret cancer struggle that ultimately led to her death put to rest any speculation that the former child star died from a drug overdose.

Just after noon on Monday, reports began to emerge that Erin Moran was diagnosed with throat cancer five months ago. Page Six reported that no illegal drugs were found inside Erin Moran’s New Salisbury, Indiana, home, where she lived with her husband of over 20 years, Steven Fleischmann, and mother-in-law, Donna Woods. Due to Erin Moran’s past struggle with depression and “hard-partying ways,” rumors began to circulate that illegal narcotics might have played a role in her untimely death.

Toxicology tests were performed on Erin Moran, along with an autopsy, after she was found deceased on Saturday afternoon in her Indiana home. Results of the toxicology tests are still pending, but autopsy results showed that she suffered from stage 4 throat cancer; a diagnosis that came around Thanksgiving and was, to a certain extent, kept a secret. Erin Moran mainly stayed out of the spotlight after Happy Days and and Joanie Loves Chachi was canceled, but one former Happy Days co-star and close friend, Anson Williams, knew some details about how Moran lived out her final days of cancer treatment.

Williams, 67, who played the role of Potsie Weber on Happy Days, told People Magazine that only a “select few” knew about Erin Moran’s “quiet battle with stage 4 cancer.” Williams went on to say that Erin Moran was receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatment for throat cancer and was left unable to speak, but added that “her texts were very positive.”

When asked to comment, Williams said, “She seemed to be fighting it” and was “really doing well.” However, after receiving news that Erin Moran had passed on Saturday, Williams recalled that he was shocked and had no idea her cancer was that bad.

The Hollywood Gossip reported on Monday afternoon that the Harrison County coroner found that Erin Moran had been fed through a gastrointestinal tube. Autopsy results revealed that Erin Moran, who was reportedly a smoker, had the feeding tube from her throat to her stomach to “keep her alive” during her final days of cancer treatment. Another close friend and actor, Paul Petersen, 71, from The Donna Reed Show, reportedly said that Erin Moran was in cancer treatment, but “it was not going well.” Steven Wishnoff, 57, from the HBO TV series Oz, added that Erin Moran would go in for chemo and take “days to recover,” adding that she was already “so weak” from the cancer.

In late October of 2016, only one month before Erin Moran was diagnosed with throat cancer, Wishnoff said he saw Moran at an autograph show in Canada, and she appeared to be in great health as she fielded questions about former Happy Days co-star Scott Baio, 56. Contrary to recent rumors about substance abuse, strange behavior, homelessness, partying, and depression, Wishnoff added that Erin Moran was “in a good place, living comfortably, and far from spiraling,” as the sad news came of her death on Saturday, shocking her fans and former co-stars.

“I know it’s not a tragic sexy story just to say that Erin Moran was looking after her mother-in-law, with a husband who adored her, in a small town in Indiana.”

[Featured Image by David Livingston/Getty Images]

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