Impatient Brittany Murphy Stunned by Mother's Cancer Diagnosis  9/24/06

Actress Brittany Murphy learned first hand about her mother's breast cancer diagnosis, because she called the hospital for test results and pretended to be her mum.

Murphy was 15 and working on the movie Clueless with Alicia Silverstone when her mother underwent cancer tests, and she just couldn't wait to hear the good or bad news.

She recalls, "I knew that she was going to get her biopsy results that day, but I hadn't heard from her.

"So, between takes, I called the doctor's office, pretending to be her, and they told me it was malignant. I'll never forget that day as long as I live."

In an exclusive interview with America's Self magazine, the Just Married star reveals she had her own breast cancer scare recently - and it made her realize fully what her mother went through to beat the disease..

She adds, "Thank God it was OK... They removed the lumps. I had numbness in my right nipple for almost a year. Now it's only slightly duller than the left side.

"It took a while for me to start feeling comfortable with them again. That's when it became even clearer how personal it all is.

"It made me understand what it must have been like for my mother."