Lauren Miller has revealed that she had a terrifying brain aneurysm removed.
Miller, who is married to comedian and writer Seth Rogan, revealed she had struggled with her health during a speech to UCLA Department of Neurosurgery Visionary Ball in Beverly Hills on Wednesday evening (October 11).
Both Miller's mother and grandmother suffered with dementia, and the 42-year-old revealed she has had health challenges of her own.
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She explained that she had decided to get checked out to try and find 'anything that could possibly be lurking inside me that would affect my longevity'.
And it was good thing that they did look, because when they did they discovered an aneurysm in her head.
An aneurysm is a bulged blood vessel caused by a weakness in the vessel wall, and usually occurs where a vessel branches.
While they can occur in any blood vessel in the body, the brain is one of the most common places.
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Needless to say, if a brain aneurysm ruptures it can be fatal. Aneurysms are particularly scary as if left undetected they can appear to come from nowhere in a seemingly healthy person.
Lauren revealed: "This was terrifying information, and made me think of my great-grandmother, whose fate I certainly didn't want to mimic.”
She added: “Fortunately, it was relatively small, and I did what the doctors recommended that I do, which is have annual MRIs [to] track the size. It remained small, until it didn't."
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After connecting with UCLA neurosurgeon Dr. Geoffrey Colby, she underwent a procedure to have the aneurysm removed and still goes for regular checkups to ensure her brain remains healthy.
Lauren said: “I'm truly endlessly grateful to Dr. Colby, his entire team, and the entire staff at UCLA who guided us through this scary experience that I'm truly grateful to have overcome."
She added: “I'm truly thankful that I won't be dying at this dinner table or any others anytime soon.”
She went on to explain that the family often uses humor as a way to cope with difficult things.
Lauren said: "For us, comedy is just sort of around and is absolutely part of how we cope with things naturally, whether we're aware of it or not."
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She also urged people to get checked out and to know their own medical history, as well as not being afraid of what they might find because it could save their life.
She said: "Don't be afraid to deep dive into that, because there are things that you can do to modify your genetics and to make lifestyle changes and live a brain-healthy life and potentially either delay or even maybe even prevent dementia or Alzheimer's."
She added. “We should be talking about caring for our brains, and it shouldn't be scary.”
Topics: News, US News, Seth Rogen, Health