Valerie Harper - after being diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatoses - is close to finally bidding her terminal brain cancer goodbye. Valerie Harper told Meredith Vieira on the Today show that she may have bought additional time to live, Us Magazine reported Thursday.

'Mary Tyler Moore' star Valerie Harper is on her way to fully healing from her terminal brain cancer, said her neuro-oncologist Dr. Jeremy Rudnick.

"I'd say that we're getting pretty close to a remission," Rudnick said on NBC's Today show, adding, "It defies the odds."

Valerie Harper's doctor also cautioned the actress on certain possibilities for her condition. "The problem is that at anytime this can change." The cancer can "develop resistance to the therapy" and it's "not a matter of if . . . it's a matter of when."

To which the NBC News correspondent Vieira asked, "So is it about buying time in the hopes that something better comes?"

"Life is about buying time," Dr. Rudnick answered.

Harper was officially diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis - a rare condition that allows cancer cells to spread into the fluid-filled meninges of the brain - in January, but only revealed her condition in March.

According to Us magazine, Valerie Harper's doctors initially said to her that she had three to six months to live. She had been receiving chemotherapy since then, and she also admitted that she tried homeopathic remedies such as acupuncture and Chinese tea as well.

Valerie's husband for 26 years now, Tony Cacciotti, expressed his gratitude and excitement on the possibility of spending more time together. "Going from having three months to live, or less; we're into our sixth month, and now there's even hope beyond right now we're looking at . . . I never planned on this," adding, "This is overwhelming."

Finally, Valerie told Vieira, "We're all going to die, but because I have a finite time -- or have been told so by my doctors -- I just want to live every moment to the fullest."

TMZ reported on Wednesday that Harper has already signed to compete on the all-new 'Dancing With the Stars' 17th Season.