Farrah Fawcett poses for photographers on the red carpet before a Comedy Central event on Aug. 13, 2006, in Los Angeles. Farrah Fawcett poses for photographers on the red carpet before a Comedy Central event on Aug. 13, 2006, in Los Angeles. (Rene Macura/Associated Press)

Tears flowed Wednesday evening at a public screening in Beverly Hills, Calif., of Farrah's Story, about actress Farrah Fawcett's struggle with cancer.

Longtime companion Ryan O'Neal, Jacqueline Bisset, Melanie Griffith and Paul Le Mat attended the screening at the Paley Center for Media, but Fawcett herself was too ill to come.

"This is truly Farrah's evening. She wasn't up to making it, but she's here in spirit," said Alana Stewart, a close friend and producer of the video diary.

Fawcett, diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006, is shown undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and multiple surgeries.

"Cancer is my own private war. The strain, the nausea, the fever take turns challenging my strength, my mind and my spirit," she says in the TV special, set to air Friday at 9 p.m. on NBC.

"Even after two years, I still haven't learned why I can't will my body to heal itself. I'm still trying, but slightly crying."

On the screen, Fawcett is gaunt, her trademark blond tresses shaved off because of the effects of chemotherapy.

"I do not want to die of this disease. So I say to God, 'It is seriously time for a miracle,' " she says.

'Incredible strength'

Fawcett came to wide public renown after starring in Charlie's Angels and also made her mark in films such as The Burning Bed, about domestic abuse.

Now 62, she said she wanted to inspire others by sharing her battle with cancer.

Farrah's Story will show her "incredible strength," Stewart said. "Her big message to people is don't give up, no matter what they say to you, keep fighting."

O'Neal said he planned to watch the Friday broadcast with Fawcett at her Los Angeles home.

The star, whose cancer has spread to her liver, is heavily medicated, O'Neal said.

"We're going to take some of these medications down so she's lucid and sharp to watch herself. I think she'll take great pride in this," he said. "We put on a brave front, always, when we're with her. She doesn't know how scared we are."

Producer Craig Nevius has filed a lawsuit against O'Neal and Stewart over Farrah's Story, saying they interfered with his rights to produce the documentary.

Nevius filed the suit Wednesday in Santa Monica, saying he wants to regain creative control of the TV special.

With files from The Associated Press