Catherine O’Hara’s demise at 71 despatched shockwaves by Hollywood.
The comedic actor has been remembered by former co-star Seth Rogen as “hysterical, sort, intuitive, beneficiant” and by her up to date and good friend Martin Brief as “the best, most sensible, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us labored with.”
On Monday, particulars from her demise certificates had been revealed by TMZ, which confirmed pulmonary embolism as the reason for demise on Jan. 30.
It additionally confirmed she’d been receiving remedy for rectal most cancers since March 2025, leaving followers and medical professionals to take a position about whether or not the 2 had been linked.
Whereas rectal most cancers is technically a unique prognosis than colon most cancers, the 2 share many similarities and are regularly lumped collectively as colorectal most cancers. However therapies for every are completely different, based on the Mayo Clinic, as are the charges of prognosis.
The American Most cancers Society estimates that as of this 12 months, colon most cancers is about twice as widespread as rectal most cancers, with roughly 108,000 new colon most cancers instances versus slightly below 50,000 rectal instances.
General charges of each, particularly amongst older adults, have declined in current many years thanks partly to raised screenings. However for adults 50 and youthful, the numbers of diagnoses have truly been climbing, growing by virtually 3% annually from 2013 to 2022 and puzzling medical doctors and most cancers researchers.
O’Hara’s rectal most cancers was listed because the long-term explanation for demise on the certificates, and should have contributed to the pulmonary embolism that ended her life. Right here’s what to know concerning the connection.
What’s pulmonary embolism?
A pulmonary embolism happens when a blood clot blocks a significant artery within the lungs, based on the Society for Vascular Surgical procedure.
Sometimes, the clot (often known as a thrombus) types elsewhere within the physique, usually a leg or arm, earlier than it breaks off and travels by the bloodstream to the lungs, the place it could prohibit oxygen consumption and stop the guts from pumping correctly.
What’s the connection between pulmonary embolism and rectal most cancers?
Analysis printed final 12 months within the Journal of Scientific Oncology states that pulmonary embolism is the main explanation for demise in most cancers sufferers. Throughout all kinds of most cancers, the danger of pulmonary embolism is seven instances greater than these with out most cancers.
However lung and gastrointestinal cancers (which embody rectal most cancers) face a good greater danger of pulmonary embolism.
Within the early 2000s, a assessment of over 1 million Medicare sufferers hospitalized with most cancers discovered that GI cancers had been among the many prime 10 with the very best fee of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism out of 18 cancers reported.
How life-threatening is pulmonary embolism, and the way is it handled?
With out fast emergency intervention, pulmonary embolisms are very harmful.
That mentioned, over 90% of sufferers who’re handled for pulmonary embolisms survive, based on the MD Anderson Most cancers Heart, although a second pulmonary embolism is “extra deadly than the primary one.”
If administered in time, therapies like blood-thinners are very efficient. Different therapies relying on severity may embody surgical procedure to take away the clot, or the administration of “clot-busters” by an IV to interrupt it up.
Who’s most at-risk?
The MD Anderson Most cancers Heart says a number of most cancers therapies can truly result in blood clots, together with chemotherapy and hormone remedy. “Sufferers who’re older, endure surgical procedure, are motionless, overweight or who’ve central venous catheters are at an elevated danger of creating these clots.”
Different danger elements embody a historical past of blood clots or clotting issues, coronary heart illness, extreme instances of COVID-19, prolonged intervals of inactivity from mattress relaxation or lengthy journeys in a automotive or airplane, some hormonal contraception drugs, smoking and generally issues from being pregnant or weight problems.
