LARRY HAGMAN'S STORY

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 Discovery Health Channel's Medical Profile Features Larry Hagman's Story of Survival

January 2003 (Newstream) -- On Monday, March 10 from 9-10 PM (ET), Discovery Health Channel's innovative program MEDICAL PROFILE will feature television icon Larry Hagman as he reveals his struggle to overcome alcoholism and liver disease.

In this one-hour episode, viewers will find out how close the real J.R. came to death. Fifteen years after Dallas, Hagman was on the brink of his own demise, struggling for survival after excessive drinking left him with end stage liver disease - doctors estimated he had just two weeks to live without a new liver. Hagman's celebrity status, however, sent his name to the top of the list of 5,000 others hoping for a new kidney, leaving many suspicious of favoritism. The controversy surrounding his ordeal, together with his subsequent commitment to the cause of recruiting donors, has both inspired and altered the way the medical community determines who gets a second chance at life.

MEDICAL PROFILE airs regularly on Mondays at 9 PM (ET). Each one-hour episode spotlights a different celebrity and his or her medical issue, ranging from diabetes to depression to obesity. Through compelling, first-person accounts, the stars tell in their own words how they struggled and overcame, or learned to cope with, their private medical issues while maintaining their lives as public figures.

The Discovery Health Channel is a 24-hour health channel from the people who also bring you the Discovery Channel. Discovery Health is a source of trustworthy information about health, medicine, nutrition and fitness, both on television and online at www.discoveryhealth.com. Together, they reveal the remarkable science behind everyday human experiences, allowing viewers to walk away with a stronger knowledge and a deeper understanding of the ever-changing health and medical environment.