Bass: 'Applegate Will Save Lives'

Breast cancer survivor CHRISTINA APPLEGATE will save the lives of thousands of women inspired by her story, insists her longtime friend LANCE BASS.

The former 'N Sync star maintains Applegate is "doing great" and "totally, fully recovering" after undergoing a double mastectomy following her diagnosis with the deadly disease last month (Jul08).

And Bass, 29, is adamant the Samantha Who? star's battle will in turn encourage scores of women to undergo early testing for the illness.

He tells People.com, "Now she has a voice and she can use it for something good. Just opening her mouth about it is going to make thousands of women go get checked out. It will probably save many lives."

Applegate has announced plans to launch a campaign to raise money for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans for women at risk of contracting breast cancer.