Second film on Farrah’s cancer battle is coming

Farrah Fawcett was overcome with emotion several times when she watched “Farrah’s Story,” the documentary about her battle with cancer, Friday night. But she also enjoyed it and was revived by it, her longtime companion Ryan O’Neal and best friend and collaborator Alana Stewart agreed Monday.

And the story isn’t over. Confirming a revelation first reported by msnbc.com’s Courtney Hazlett, O’Neal told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Monday via telephone from his home: “We haven’t stopped filming, and we’re going to make a second installment on her life.”

The 62-year-old actress was too ill to attend the Hollywood premiere of the movie, which pulled strong ratings on NBC. But she watched it with O’Neal and Stewart at her home.

“When we began watching it Friday night, she had [a] very low pulse,” O’Neal told Vieira. But as the film progressed, Fawcett’s pulse got stronger until it was fully normal. “It kept going up and up and up,” O’Neal said. “It was wonderful … We’re going to have to show her one of her films every night.”

‘Did you like it?’
Stewart, who did much of the filming, said she didn’t know how her friend would react to the film.

“I was a little nervous. She cried a few times. It was quite emotional for her,” Stewart said. When it was over, she asked Fawcett, “OK, so did you like it?”

“I liked it very, very, very, very, very much,” Fawcett replied.

“That was a relief,” O’Neal told Vieira.

The next day, O’Neal checked the overnight ratings and told Fawcett, “We did real good last night.”

Ever the actress concerned with how her work is received, Fawcett employed standard entertainment jargon: “What were the numbers?”

O'Neal assured her that “Farrah’s Story” led the ratings for the evening. “It made me laugh that she still had those terms in her head,” the actor said.

1. More from TODAY.com
   1. Jilted groom suing for $61K: ‘I tried to be a nice guy’
      

      Steven Silverstein, who has made headlines for suing Kendra Platt-Lee for costs related to their canceled wedding and seve...

   2. Pitbull heats up plaza with ‘Love’
   3. Michelle Parker’s mom: Her kids are ‘not the same’
   4. Bobby Brown’s kids talk about his drug use
   5. Bobbie's Buzz: Unique and clever cocktail helpers

Battle not yet over
Stewart said she’s already heard from many people who were deeply moved by Fawcett’s courage in making the movie and spreading awareness of cancer. When Fawcett began the project two years ago, she thought she had beaten the anal cancer she was diagnosed with in 2006. When the cancer returned and spread to other organs, she continued with the project, still hoping for a cure, but aware of the odds against her.

Video: Doctor: Fawcett ‘still willing to fight’ Part of the documentary deals with Fawcett’s decision to go to Germany for holistic treatments that are not approved by the FDA in the United States. That treatment involved extracting cancer cells and devising treatments based on how the cells reacted to various medical tactics. Fawcett thought at one point that the treatments had halted the disease, only to have it come back.

In a separate segment, Fawcett’s German physician, Dr. Ursula Jacob, told TODAY that while Fawcett’s condition is grave, she hasn’t given up the battle.

“She’s surely in a worse stage than she was a year ago, but she’s still willing to fight against this cancer, and she still has hope,” Jacob said. “I think there is always a chance when the patient wants to do something, and she still has options for treatment.”

Among the treatment options, she said, are new therapies and new antibody treatments.

‘She was flabbergasted’
Friday night’s broadcast drew emotions from other viewers besides the actress herself.

Stewart said that when she went to a local store, she was even stopped by three women who wanted to thank her. “You have no idea how much it means to so many people for her to have bared her soul like this,” the women told her.

Stewart told Fawcett about the response, and Fawcett said, “Are you kidding me? Really?” Stewart told Vieira. “Sometimes she doesn’t realize how powerfully she affects people.”

“She was flabbergasted, and that made it even more fun,” O’Neal added.

Stewart said she was delighted at Fawcett’s response. “It’s meant a lot to me. I wanted it so much for her. I wanted it to be a success. I wanted it to be everything she wanted it to be,” she told Vieira.

Slideshow: Farrah Fawcett One of the most moving parts of the film takes place when her and O’Neal’s 24-year-old son, Redmond O’Neal, is allowed to visit her. The young man is serving a jail term and undergoing court-ordered rehab treatments for drug violations. A judge allowed him the home visit, but he had to wear his orange jail clothes and his guards would not remove his leg irons.

O’Neal didn’t want Fawcett to know her son was incarcerated. As he hugged his mother, O’Neal told his son, “Don’t rattle your chains.”

Vieira asked what Fawcett’s reaction was to learning the truth when she watched the documentary.

“I’m not sure she understood that he was in chains or that he was wearing an orange jumpsuit,” O’Neal replied. “I think she just saw her son and was taken in by her dear boy.”

© 2012 MSNBC Interactive.  Reprints