More details about Danielle Spencer‘sdeath have come to light.
After the What’s Happening!! actress passed away Aug. 11 following a battle with cancer, her mom Cheryl Pelt shared that the 60-year-old was hospitalized on Aug. 1 when a urinary tract infection became septic, Cheryl told TMZ in an interview published Aug. 13. Additionally, Danielle had been receiving medications and nutrients through a tube.
Cheryl also shared with the outlet that her daughter—best known for her role as Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom—had developed pneumonia in both of her lungs as her cancer progressed.
Danielle’s former co-star Haywood Nelson—who played Dwayne Nelson on the show—announced the news of the star’s death on Aug. 12, noting that she had navigated a “long battle with cancer.”
“Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body,” he wrote on Instagram. “We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.”
“We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, What’s Happening cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine,” he continued. “Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced.”
Danielle—also a veterinarian—lived in California for over 20 years before moving to Richmond, Virginia, in 2014 to be closer to family. That same year, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I had a lump for at least a year,” she told the Richmond Times Dispatch in 2016. “It wasn’t until I came here that the doctor said, ‘Let’s just biopsy it.’ And then I found out.”
She ultimately decided to undergo a mastectomy.
“Chemo was hell,” she reflected. “It was definitely one of the worst times in my life. You feel helpless. You can’t do what you want to do. It leads to depression. I had so much support from friends and family.”
