Ali McGraw played a girl in the movie “Love Story”. At the end of the movie, she died of some disease. Does anybody know what she died of? I either can’t remember or they never said. I got the impression that it was something like Leukemia but I don’t know. Anybody?
See How Hollywood Films Portray Cancer. They say that they can infer that it was leukemia, although the diagnosis is not made explicit on camera. I don’t know if the novel makes it plain or not.
According to Roger Ebert’s “Bigger Little Movie Glossary,” it is properly known as “Ali McGraw Disease,” in which the main symptom is that the sufferer grows more beautiful as she approaches death.
As opposed to Ali McBeal disease, where she just grows more skinny as she approaches death.
Also known as Karen Carpenter Disease.
The novel does explicitly give the diagnosis as leukemia. It’s diagnosed when she goes in for a fertility workup.
Robin
I love that book! Im glad the disease isn’t specific…it kinda makes it easier to relate it to most people.