What Is Leiomyosarcoma? Loni Anderson’s Cause Of Death Revealed Nearly Three Weeks After Actress’ Death

Loni Anderson’s cause of death has finally come to light, almost three weeks after she passed away—just shy of her 80th birthday.

Loni Anderson’s Cause of Death Revealed

According to her death certificate, which TMZ got their hands on Friday, Aug. 22, the actress died from metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma.

That’s a rare and aggressive cancer that starts in the uterus and can quickly spread to places like the lungs and liver, often with devastating consequences. There weren’t any other causes cited, and the paperwork shows her remains were cremated and laid to rest in Hollywood back on Aug. 7.

Her longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan, confirmed the news: Anderson died at 79, on Aug. 3, in a Los Angeles hospital after what was described as a prolonged illness. She was just days away from turning 80.

In a statement, Anderson’s family said, “We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother.”

Most people remember Anderson for her role as Jennifer Marlowe on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran from 1978 to 1982. She picked up three Golden Globe nods and two Emmy nominations for that show.

After WKRP, she starred in the 1983 comedy Stroker Ace, where she met Burt Reynolds. The two ended up falling for each other during filming and got married in secret in 1988 at Reynolds’ ranch in Florida.

They adopted a son, Quinton, but the marriage didn’t last, and they divorced in 1994 and later spoke publicly about the challenges they faced together.

What is leiomyosarcoma? 

It’s one of those rare, nasty cancers that can really catch you off guard. It starts in smooth muscle, the stuff you never have to think about, like the muscles lining your bladder, stomach, intestines, blood vessels, and even your uterus. 

Leiomyosarcoma (or LMS) falls under the soft tissue sarcoma family. And here’s the kicker: it’s fast. Sometimes this thing can double in size in just a month. Those cancer cells? They don’t like to stay put. They’ll hitch a ride in your bloodstream and pop up in soft tissues pretty much anywhere they want.

A lot of people don’t even know anything’s wrong until LMS is already pretty far along. That’s when it gets dangerous, sometimes even life-threatening. But if you catch it early, there’s a shot at kicking it to the curb.

As for why it happens? No one’s pinning it down for sure. It could be your genes, maybe you got some “bad code” passed down from your parents, or maybe your own DNA just decided to go rogue one day. Either way, it’s your normal cells turning into something you definitely don’t want.