PRIME-TIME SPOTLIGHT ON BREAST CANCER.

Byline: Kinney Littlefield Orange County Register

Just a bundle of chuckles, breast cancer. It has millions of women laughing all over the world.

Of course not. Breast cancer is a scary beast. For a woman it is one of the scariest beasts going. Which is why we should join in the laughter on Wednesday's sharp season premiere of the CBS comedy ``Murphy Brown,'' in which a mammogram finds a lump in Murphy's (Candice Bergen) breast.

First, ``Murphy'' is a good way to honor October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Besides, it can't hurt to follow Norman Cousins' advice about laughter being the best medicine.

And if a little sharp humor prompts more women to watch for warning signs of breast cancer, to press for more research into causes, treatments and cures - let's all start laughing now.

Of course ``Murphy's'' continuing cancer story line, building to her decision to have a lumpectomy in ``Ectomy, Schmectomy'' on Oct. 15, is also a smart way to build buzz for the long-lived series. ``Murphy'' is going into its 10th season, which will definitely be Bergen's last, she confirmed in a teleconference.

But back to breast cancer. On Wednesday, Murphy's battle begins in the same way it does for so many women - in very ordinary fashion. At the end of last season, Murphy left her high-profile anchor position on fictional public affairs show ``FYI'' to become a White House media adviser. Of course, she's so opinionated she gets fired. Returning to ``FYI,'' she discovers that Corky (Faith Ford), her ditsy news reporter-colleague, actually has been doing some solid reporting on breast cancer and mammograms - and Murphy hasn't had a mammogram in two years.

So, she has one. Scared, hoping for the best, she finds something worse - a 2-centimeter lump, and a doctor who prescribes an immediate biopsy.

Tough stuff, this. But - perhaps because sharp series creator Diane English has returned to ``Murphy'' as executive consultant, perhaps because writer Marc Flanagan has penned an astute script - this episode, called ``Murphy Redux,'' tackles its terrifying topic subtly, if sometimes preachily.

Yet, oh how true this sermon is.

Using every tool

``We women have to fight breast cancer with every tool we have,'' Corky tells Murphy.

``Oh, I don't bother with those - it doesn't run in my family,'' Murphy's boss and nemesis Kay Carter-Shepley (Lily Tomlin) says of mammograms and breast cancer - the perfect example of what not to do in real life.

Throughout the episode there is a constant buffer of humor, however.

``You know, I'm surprised more women don't examine their breasts more often - I mean, how long could it take, an hour?'' asks Murphy's colleague Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto), presumably speaking from experience.

Indeed, one of the best things about ``Murphy's'' breast cancer arc is how it informs and involves the men in her life - especially Frank.

But in the end, Murphy must face her crisis herself. And this gives Bergen - a consummate actor - a much-deserved chance to stretch. Summoned to her doctor's office after the biopsy - he won't talk to her over the phone, never a good sign - tough cookie Murphy finally crumbles in a heart-tugging moment.

``The mammogram I had yesterday, Frank - they found something. It wasn't supposed to be anything,'' she says simply.

``But it is.''

Hard-hitting as it is, ``Murphy Brown'' does not have a lock on savvy TV talk about breast cancer in October. Premiering this week, two cable documentaries offer important, in-depth looks.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, HBO presents the intelligent, informative ``Rachel's Daughters: Searching for the Causes of Breast Cancer.'' Directed by Allie Light and Irving Saraf, ``Rachel's Daughters'' is named after scientist Rachel Carson, the author of the 1962 environmental warning ``Silent Spring,'' who died from breast cancer in 1964.

``Rachel's Daughters'' is structured as a research project into the causes of breast cancer, conducted by eight breast cancer survivors. In remarkably honest chats these women share their experiences, then individually interview experts who study the effect of pesticides, hazardous wastes, electromagnetic fields, estrogen, genetic factors, race and the workplace on women's health. What you hear may shock and anger you - but it is a call to action, a good thing.

Bittersweet reunion

During filming of ``Rachel's Daughters,'' one of these survivors died. At its conclusion we see a bittersweet reunion of the seven remaining members of the documentary team. Behind them on a hillside stand hundreds of silent, black-veiled women, ominously symbolizing the souls lost to this insidious disease.

At 8 p.m. Oct. 5, breast cancer special ``Say It, Fight It, Cure It'' premieres on Lifetime. Directed by Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress-director Lee Grant, ``Say It'' is a more conventionally structured documentary, featuring women describing their personal breast cancer battles - some winning, some not.

Among those featured is popular talk host Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell grew up in a part of Long Island, New York, where incidences of breast cancer were extraordinarily high - in a neighborhood threaded by high-voltage, above-ground power lines. O'Donnell's mother died of breast cancer, as did several neighbors. A while back, O'Donnell found a benign lump in her own breast, as her sister did in hers.

Throughout the program, O'Donnell is painfully, tearfully candid, bringing home the dire need for research into environmental causes of the disease.

Need another laugh?

On Oct. 15 catch the poignant ``Murphy Brown'' episode ``Ectomy, Schmectomy,'' which remarkably mixes honest breast cancer talk and sharp commentary on the confusing array of current treatments with some socko, smart-mouthed Murph-isms.

A panicky Murphy tries to focus when her new doctor (guest star Rita Moreno) tells her firmly, ``Murphy, you have to remember - breast cancer is doable.''

But we know no mere disease is gonna get Murphy down. Not the ultimate world-revolves-around-me woman.

When a worried Frank counsels Murph to consider the latest, post-mastectomy breast-reconstruction techniques, with ``I've got the name of the best breast man in Washington'' - Murph just can't resist.

In classic form she fires back, ``House or Senate?''

THE FACTS

The film: ``Murphy Brown.''

When: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: KCBS (Channel 2).

The film: ``Rachel's Daughters: Searching for the Causes of Breast Cancer.''

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: HBO.

The film: ``Say It, Fight It, Cure It.''

When: 8 p.m. Oct. 5.

Where: Lifetime.

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Photo

Photo: The documentary ``Say It, Fight It, Cure It,'' directed by Lee Grant, premieres at 8 p.m. Oct. 5 on Lifetime.