Kitten Natividad \nDUARTE, CA - Cult fetish film star Kitten Natividad will undergo a double mastectomy next Monday at City of Hope Hospital here.
Seen most recently in the VCA video Café Flesh 2, Natividad first achieved renown as the protégé of B-movie director Russ Meyer in the 1970s, including Up. Longtime friend Rob Schaffner confirmed Natividad's illness and forthcoming surgery.
"She didn't know how to tell Russ," Schaffner tells AVN. "It was something she'd kept hidden from him - and from her fans - for a long time. But she'd grown so sick she couldn't hide it any longer."
But when Meyer did learn the news at last, he was said to be "absolutely heartbroken".
"He just went into his room and locked the door behind him because he didn't want us to see him cry," Schaffner says.
Natividad had been receiving chemotherapy despite having no health insurance. She lost weight dramatically as a result because she could not keep food down.
Schaffner says the star was terrified of losing her breasts - at one point asking him and his wife, Chris, to just let her die - but the Schaffners refused.
"She's concerned her fans won't care for her anymore, which is ridiculous, because they love her regardless and would only want to see her healthy again," Schaffner says.
Anyone wishing to make donations to help Kitten Natividad can send them in care of Rob Schaffner at Mondo Video, 1718 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027, (323) 953-8896.
