Tonight (South Africa), August 2010

By THANDANANI MHLANGA

She's the nanny with the raspy voice and the eccentric fashion sense who captured the hearts of television viewers worldwide, and she's in Cape Town with her friend of two years who was born in the city.

Fran Drescher, the woman behind Fran Fine, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated role in The Nanny, is in South Africa to continue her role as an activist and to enjoy more of the country she says she loves.

Along with Drescher is her "friend" of two years, Gavin Lurssen, a Grammy Award-winning master engineer who's originally from Cape Town. He emigrated to the US with his parents at the age of 16.

Drescher said she and Lurssen would be travelling to his favourite places in the city.

"I want to go to a vineyard to have lunch. I want to go to Table Mountain, walk around the Waterfront, see penguins and visit some of Gavin's childhood haunts."

Drescher said she will also visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg as well as several girls' homes and speak at various functions.

Drescher's voice is a combination of a high nasal pitch, Yiddish influences and what is viewed as a stereotypical New York City accent and helped make The Nanny a sitcom |phenomenon.

But it's since her battle with cancer and her appointment as public diplomacy envoy for health issues by the US State Department that she's used her fame to raise awareness of women's health issues.

She travels the world working with health organisations and women's groups to raise awareness of women's health issues, cancer awareness and detection, and patient empowerment and advocacy.

In Cape Town on Thursday, Drescher had tea with a handful of local women at the Cellars-Hohenort Hotel in Constantia.

She spoke passionately about her career, life, battle with cancer and the Tomorrow Trust, which does work with orphaned and vulnerable young people.

Speaking about her battle with uterine cancer, Drescher said she was misdiagnosed seven times before an eighth doctor sent her for an endometrial biopsy that correctly diagnosed her with the disease.

Previously she had been misdiagnosed with early onset menopause and was then put on several hormone replacement therapy medications, some of which contained |estrogen and exacerbated the cancer.

"One doctor told me I was too young to have uterine cancer," Drescher said.

After her diagnosis, she had to undergo a hysterectomy, something she said was a "bitter pill" as a woman who'd never had children.

"I knew that I would now be described as a woman who would never have children the natural way."

Drescher said after dealing with anger and grief she had to find acceptance and "play the hand that was dealt me with as much courage and elegance as I can master".

She's emphatic about the importance of early detection of cancer, saying "catch it on arrival, 95 percent survival".

"The reasons why we lose most of our loved ones is because of late stage diagnosis," she elaborated.

Drescher also spoke about her love of South Africa.

"The moment I leave South Africa, I always miss it."

She revealed that the script for The Nanny had been bought by several production companies in other countries in order to recreate the series in those countries, using their local talent and native language.

"So pretty soon there'll be a Chinese Nanny and a Polish Nanny," Drescher said.

On her career, Drescher admitted to having "found a niche as a funny actress with a funny voice, early on in my career".

This despite having been a "chubby girl from Queens, New York".

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