Mary Tyler Moore: brain surgery for benign tumor

[May 13, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A representative for Mary Tyler Moore said Thursday that the veteran sitcom star has gone in to a facility for surgery to remove a benign tumor on the lining of her brain.

Spokeswoman Alla Plotkin says Moore's doctors recommended the elective procedure after monitoring the tumor "for years." Plotkin would not specify if the surgery had already taken place, or how Moore was doing.

The procedure was to remove a meningioma, a slow-growing tumor in the membranes that cover the brain. Meningiomas usually occur in older adults and are mostly benign.

The 74-year-old Moore gained stardom as a modern suburban housewife on the 1960s comedy "The Dick Van Dyke Show," then went on to headline her own successful series as a single woman pursuing a career.

Moore's plan to have the surgery was first reported on People magazine's website.

[Associated Press]

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