'Dancing With the Stars' Season 17 Cast: Valerie Harper 'Not Sad' About Elimination from Show [VIDEO]
Valerie Harper may have been eliminated on Monday night's episode of Dancing With the Stars but the sitcom legend isn't too upset about it.
"I'm not sad. I'm happy to have been here for four weeks," she told ABC News Radio after Monday night's show. "I mean, that was great. And I think there's fairness to it. If the show's about good dancing and achieving ballroom styles, I wasn't there yet."
The 74-year-old actress was the third celebrity eliminated from season 17 after former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and TV scientist Bill Nye. She and partner Tristan MacManus received steadily decreasing scores from the judges every week but her spirit was always high.
Harper was diagnosed with terminal cancer in January and given three to six months to live. Some of her latest scans revealed that the cancer had retreated, allowing her to participate in Dancing With the Stars.
After being eliminated Monday Harper said, "[Dancing With the Stars] was an opportunity for me to carry a message to folks. Not just with cancer or whatever they have, that whatever challenge - like our song tonight - keep on keepin' on."
MacManus said he was lucky to have been "affected" by Harper, noting, "Maybe my life's a little bit better since I met Valerie Harper."
Harper told ABC News that she hoped to inspire people with her message: "Till God strikes you dead, don't just lie there."
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Watch this clip of Harper's last dance on the show:
