Actress Marcia Cross recovering from anal cancer

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - Actress Marcia Cross revealed on Instagram that she is recovering from anal cancer, eight months after she was treated for the disease.

In the photo, Cross, 56, is seen pouting with what appears to be hair dye along her roots. She wrote: 

"So grateful and happy to be alive but sad that my hair fell out and is about 1 inch long now and looks cra cra," she wrote in the Sept. 15 post. "Anyone else have #hairloss due to #cancer? Talk to me. I feel you."

Cross was inundated with comments expressing support for the 'Desperate Housewives' star, some believing the initial post to be an announcement about her diagnosis.

In response, Cross wrote, "I am doing well everyone! Didn't mean to scare you. Almost 8 months post treatment."

In a follow-up post a day later, Cross made it clear that she is now doing much better.

"I am so sorry my post wasn’t clear. I am POST cancer. All good now. Hard journey, but I am HEALTHY, happy, and more present and grateful than ever. Thank you from the bottom of my ever expanding heart for all of your LOVE.”

And, on Sept. 18, she shared a lengthy message where she revealed the type of cancer she had.

"On that note, if you were wondering, I had #analcancer."

It is the same disease that killed actress Farah Fawcett in 2005 at the age of 62.

More than 7,200 Americans are affected by anal cancer a year. Around 1,200 people die yearly from the disease.

"Thank you again for your love and for sharing your personal stories of struggle with #cancer," wrote Cross.