# What did she die of?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 11, 2000, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805 "2000-11-11T18:10:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cheezit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805/1 "2000-11-11T18:10:17Z")

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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?

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805/2 "2000-11-11T18:36:30Z")

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See [How Hollywood Films Portray Cancer](http://www.moffitt.usf.edu/pubs/ccj/v6n5/dept7.htm). 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.

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**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805/3 "2000-11-11T20:18:24Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805/4 "2000-11-11T20:35:20Z")

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As opposed to Ali McBeal disease, where she just grows more skinny as she approaches death.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2000, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805/5 "2000-11-12T02:41:42Z")

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Also known as Karen Carpenter Disease.

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**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2000, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805/6 "2000-11-12T08:32:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by bibliophage \*  
> \*\*See [How Hollywood Films Portray Cancer](http://www.moffitt.usf.edu/pubs/ccj/v6n5/dept7.htm). 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. \*\*

The novel does explicitly give the diagnosis as leukemia. It’s diagnosed when she goes in for a fertility workup.

Robin

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**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-she-die-of/40805/7 "2000-11-13T05:03:44Z")

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I love that book! Im glad the disease isn’t specific…it kinda makes it easier to relate it to most people.