Disney Channel Alum Reveals Heartbreaking Medical News: ‘I May Have Stageable Cancer’

Former Disney Channel star Christy Carlson Romano revealed some sad news when she told fans she received a positive cancer screening.

Romano, 41, shared an Instagram Reel on Tuesday, February 17, and explained that she and her husband, Brendan Rooney, both had a history of cancer in their families. She said that her mom “beat” the disease, but her father “eventually didn’t.”

This prompted them to schedule cancer screenings and while Rooney’s came back “completely negative,” hers did not.

“Basically what that means is, I may have stageable cancer,” the Kim Possible alum said. “The next steps are to get a PET scan [but] I’m fighting with companies to get that covered.”

Romano went on to say that she lives in Austin, Texas, where the late James Van Der Beek lived and was able to meet him and his family. Van Der Beek died on February 11 after battling stage 3 colorectal cancer.

“He’s a pillar of our community in Texas,” she continued. “They always were raising money for the most amazing charities, and he’s not with us anymore. Cancer is everywhere, which is why I got this test.”

Romano added that she was trying “not think about it much” and that she was in “disbelief” about the situation.

The news comes a little over a year after she suffered a serious injury while shooting clay pigeons.

However, the mom of two said that even though this was a “very vulnerable” time for her, she was trying to stay strong.

“It’s time to have a strong sense of faith and know that it’s in God’s hands, most of it,” Romano explained. “I’m sure people think I’m overreacting, but I’m not, because cancer is pretty serious, and I have two little girls.”

She concluded by saying that she was scheduled to have a PET scan “later this week” and she was hopeful it was “something easy to treat.”