Celebrity Health in 2009

One of the year's most stunning celebrity slim downs came from "One Day at a Time" alum, and Jenny Craig spokeswoman, Valerie Bertinelli. The star lost 40 pounds just nine months after starting the Jenny Craig program and showed off her bikini body on the cover of People's April 2009 issue. To get her body beachwear ready, Bertinelli ran five times a week with a personal trainer and cut her calories from 1,700 a day to 1,200.

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"Law and Order: SVU" beauty Mariska Hargitay was treated for a collapsed lung in early 2009. A rep for the actress and daughter of famed pin-up Jayne Mansfield, told Access Hollywood that the star was suffering from pneumothorax, but would not miss filming on SVU.

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Curly-haired, Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn has battled Stage 2 Hodgkin's disease since April. After several months of chemotherapy treatment, Zohn was delivered the devastating news that his cancer had returned, reported People. After more treatment and a commitment to an optimistic outlook on his illness, Zohn announced in December 2009 that his cancer was in remission.

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Charlie's most famous angel, Farrah Fawcett, lost her battle with anal cancer in 2009. The starlet battled the disease for three years before passing away in June after the cancer had spread to her liver.

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After an almost two-year long battle with pancreatic cancer Patrick Swayze succumbed to the disease in September of 2009. The star, known for his roles in such classics as "Dirty Dancing," "Road House" and "Ghost," was 57. Swayze had continued to act, despite his grave prognosis, starring in the A&E series "The Beast."

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TV personality Bryant Gumbel delivered one of the most shocking health confessions of the year after a guest host appearance on "Live with Regis and Kelly." While filling in for Regis Philbin, who was recovering from hip replacement surgery, Gumbel revealed that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. In front of viewers and a noticeably shocked Kelly Ripa, Gumbel explained that he had surgery to remove a portion of his lung two months previously. "They opened up my chest, they took a malignant tumor and they took part of my lung and some other goodies," he said. Gumbel said that much of his cancer had been taken care of.

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Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder and CEO, made headlines this year after battling pancreatic cancer. Jobs took a leave of absence from his post at Apple to concentrate on his health. It was later reported that Jobs received a liver transplant in the spring. Pancreatic cancer claimed the life of actor Patrick Swayze in 2009.

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Musical maestro and Broadway legend Andrew Lloyd Webber was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009. Though caught in its early stages, Webber still underwent treatment for his condition. Popeater reports that the composer is currently working on a sequel to his hit musical "The Phantom of the Opera."

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In March of 2009, actress Natasha Richardson died after sustaining injuries from a skiing accident in Montreal. Richardson was coherent as much as an hour after the impact to her head, a result from a rare delay in symptoms. Ultimately, brain swelling caused the actress to die two days after the accident. On average, only 50,000 people out of the 1.4 million people who sustain traumatic brain injuries will succumb to their injuries.

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Without question, the most shocking celebrity death of 2009 was that of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The world was devastated when the legendary singer-songwriter was pronounced dead after being rushed to a California hospital. The singer had suffered cardiac arrest. Details would later emerge about Jackson's physical ailments, including insomnia and chronic pain, as well as his reliance on the prescription drug propofol.

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