On Thursday, May 16, Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C), in collaboration with leading daytime community voices Alan Locher and Michael Fairman, will host a groundbreaking livestream event, Daytime Stands Up: A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer … We All Have a Story. This three-hour benefit will showcase stars from the world of daytime drama television past and present, along with moving musical performances and powerful stories of on- and off-screen experiences with cancer. Special celebrity guests will also join the effort to urge viewers to support crucial research and advancements in cancer treatments.
For over 15 years, SU2C has harnessed its relationship with the entertainment community – which includes more than 1,100 celebrity ambassadors – to drive public donations, raise awareness, and fund cutting-edge cancer research. SU2C research has played a role in the development of over 10 significant scientific breakthroughs that have greatly impacted the field, offering new treatment options for breast, colorectal, lung, melanoma, pancreatic, pediatric, and prostate cancers.
Among the participants in this year’s event are Kristen Alderson and Eddie Alderson, the beloved sibling duo known for their roles on One Life to Live. Kristen Alderson, an accomplished American actress and singer, is best known for portraying Starr Manning on the soap opera “One Life to Live.” She also took on the same character on “General Hospital” following the cancellation of “One Life to Live” and later played Kiki Jerome. Kristen has amassed a dedicated fan following.
Eddie Alderson is an esteemed American actor famed for his portrayal of Matthew Buchanan on the soap opera One Life to Live, has also appeared in various television series and films, demonstrating his prowess in the entertainment industry. Furthermore, Alderson has been vocal about his battle with lymphoma, using his platform to raise awareness about this disease. Soap Opera News had the esteemed pleasure of speaking with these beloved actors. Read the interview below.
We’re here to discuss the Daytime Stands Up to Cancer event. What motivated both of you to get involved in this significant cause?
Eddie Alderson: Well, in 2016, I was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And luckily, because of countless amounts of research and fundraising, we found that there are new drugs out there that were able to help me save my life. Drugs like Keytruda and other drugs that are used in today’s world weren’t around, even just a few years ago. So it’s important to get involved with events like this and raise awareness because every day, things change, and it’s scary. It’s a scary thing for families and patients, and we need as much awareness as possible. And it’s pretty obvious that everybody knows somebody who’s dealing with cancer, whether it’s you or somebody you’re related to. It’s a lot. So again, we do need events like this.
Kristen Alderson: I mean, obviously, going through this with my brother was incredibly scary. But at the same time, we were shown so much love, compassion, empathy, and just so many prayers from the fans and from the community. Like Eddie said, everyone has either had cancer themselves or known someone who had cancer in their family or friends, and everyone’s been affected by it at some point. So it’s really important for us to get the word out there and spread more awareness. The aim is to reduce the frequency of occurrences and ensure that when it does happen, it’s not as scary. And, you know, Michael Fairman and Alan Locher are going to have performances, and I think as dark as cancer can be, it can also be a time to celebrate life and to be aware that we all don’t have guarantees in life, and we need to celebrate life, love, and happiness as often as possible as well.
What message would you like to share with fans about the impact of their support for events like these?
Eddie Alderson: It just helps. It’s very weird. When you’re going through something like cancer, the smallest things can make your day better. I just remember that Kristen would come with me to some of my chemo appointments, and we would watch music videos—little things like that would make my day better. So for there to be a group of celebrities and daytime stars to get together, do performances, get involved with the fans, and be able to perform and do interviews like this and just raise awareness, I think it boosts the spirits of people who are going through it and the families who are impacted by it as well. I think that it’s extremely important that we continue to have events, and it’s also a time for the fans to interact with people they like. You know, it’ll be a fun evening.
Kristen Alderson: They haven’t seen you in a long time, Eddie. There are so many people who haven’t even heard the story, so that’ll be interesting. Eddie also has a story that he’s going to tell about Bruce Springsteen, a celebrity that he met. So, yeah, lots of fun stories.
Would you participate again, probably next year?
Eddie Alderson: I would do it. Absolutely. Again, absolutely. I mean, like I said, this is extremely important, and there isn’t enough awareness. I know Stand up to cancer. I recognize it just from watching the MLB playoffs. I know that every year they do a thing where everyone in the stands of baseball games writes somebody who they know that’s been impacted by cancer. It’s an extremely powerful thing, and I know that every year they do it, so I hope that events like this can become a tradition, and hopefully we get enough word out there and enough people get involved.
Kristen Alderson: The soap fans have always been the most supportive fans as well. There were so many times when Eddie had a scan or a checkup, and when we put it out there, the fans would all pray for him, and I believe in the power of prayer, so I know that they’ll be supportive in this, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everybody come together for that as well.
Kristen, you did the movie “Man in the Guest House,” and I was finally able to watch it about two weeks ago. Are you interested in doing any more Lifetime movies or movies in general?
I totally do. It was my first Lifetime movie. Actually, this was my first movie ever; I’d never been in a movie before, and it was hard work. I’m so impressed at how many movies Lifetime makes all the time, and I was so honored to be a part of it. It was so much fun to do, and yes, that is my my plan or my hope is that I will definitely have many more to come because it was a really great experience.
What are your goals and aspirations for the future in terms of your acting career?
Kristen: Like I said honestly, Lifetime or Hallmark, I would love to do more movies if I ever get back in Los Angeles. I wouldn’t mind going back on a soap; you know, soaps were my home like forever, and it would be really fun to be a part of that again, so pretty much anything. I also have done a lot of theater, so if a theater gig pops up, I’ll do that. Just whatever comes up, I’m down for it.
Eddie: Well, you know, for a while I was kind of out of the game a little bit. I’m just contemplating trying to get back and dabble my fingers in it a little bit, so we’ll see. I’m not really sure what might come up, but I have an agent again, so we’ll see. Again, in terms of this event and everything, I’m just glad to be here, glad to be alive, and I’m getting married in September, so there are a lot of big events coming up, so we’ll see if there’s time to do any acting, but you never know, I could do something soon.
Do you have a message for your fans out there?
Kristen Alderson: I would just like to thank everyone who’s ever prayed for Eddie or asked about Eddie during his cancer journey. Even though he is in remission now and he’s cancer-free, we still think about everybody and appreciate everybody that helped us get through that time because, like I said, the soap fans were there through all of it, and we’re really, really grateful for that. They are like family.
Eddie Alderson: I hope that the message gets out there. Get yourselves checked, and if something doesn’t seem right, get it checked. Go see your doctor. Don’t ignore the signs; your body sends you signs. I probably ignored some signs that it was sending to me, not thinking it was anything, and it could have been detected sooner. So I always implore people to, if there’s something that seems weird, get yourselves checked out because you never know what you could prevent.
Please make sure you support this year’s Daytime Stands Up to Cancer Event. All information available here.
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