'Rhoda' Actress Valerie Harper Alive and Well at Del Mar Races

Valerie Harper, star of Rhoda and a popular co-star on Mary Tyler Moore in the 1970s, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009. In January, doctors told her the cancer had spread to her brain, and she had three months to live, the National Enquirer reported.

But the Enquirer found Harper alive and well July 28 at the Del Mar Racetrack, where she attended a Lung Cancer Foundation of America Fundraiser, chatting with fans and posing for photos.

“She told everyone not to feel sorry for her and that they should be more concerned with the suffering of people living in Africa,” a race attendee told the Enquirer.

Various media outlets, including Patch and People magazine, began to say their farewells to the 73-year-old actress in March when the actress announced her diagnosis. But Harper hasn’t gone anywhere.

“When doctors called her disease terminal, Valerie laughed and said ‘we are all terminal,’” a former co-star told the Enquirer.

Harper has been active since her diagnosis, and friends, family and co-stars don’t seem surprised by her story of survival.

“Valerie Harper is a century plan and I have come to know her much better in my latter years and have every confidence in the world that she will shock the hell out of us and survive to keep functioning as the great talent and human that she is,” former co-star Ed Asner told Entertainment Tonight in March.

Harper reunited with Mary Tyler Moore and friend Betty White for an episode of Hot in Cleveland, which will air Sept. 4 on TV Land.