Ellen DeGeneres wants to help keep breast cancer out of the closet.
Recalling what it was like in the 1970s, when her mother, Betty, was undergoing treatment for the disease, the talk show host, 49, tells USA Today, "Everything was a dirty little secret back then."
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, DeGeneres adds, "The fact that she had a mastectomy was not spoken of. She tried to shield me from it a little bit, but she needed my help with recovery and physical rehabilitation. It bonded us even more."