Dana and Christopher Reeve were married for 12 years

The 44-year-old revealed she had the disease in August - less than a year after her husband died.

He was paralysed in a riding accident in 1995, and died in hospital in October 2004 at the age of 52.

"I'm beating the odds and defying every statistic the doctors can throw at me," Reeve told The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation on Thursday.

'Bittersweet'

She was speaking at a dinner in New York to raise funds for the foundation, which was also attended by Paul Newman, Meryl Streep and Robin Williams.

Reeve added: "I'm feeling great, surprisingly. I am responding well to treatment."

The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation gala was to be her first public appearance since her diagnosis, said Maggie Goldberg, spokeswoman for the foundation.

"She always had every intention of being there," Goldberg said.

"She's feeling great and has a good prognosis. She's still chairwoman of the board, still very active in the foundation."

At the gala, the Christopher Reeve Spirit of Courage Award was awarded to Hollywood couple Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta Jones.

"It's bittersweet," Douglas said in accepting the award. "We miss him so much."

Speaking before the event, Zeta Jones said: "She's better than Superwoman, she's Wonder Woman. Dana is like a saint to me."