In fact, one friend who was particularly helpful to Smith was a breast cancer survivor herself. She wrote that in her case, early detection meant she would need a mastectomy but not chemotherapy. "If you do find something that doesn't feel right, go get it checked out and insist on a mammogram.". Her fear quickly turned to anger. To launch the social media movement, Couric shared a smiley shot of her and her daughters, Ellie and Caroline. She wrote of her initial disbelief: Waitme? "Both the radiologist and the doctor said, 'You're a ticking time bomb,'" the Food Network star recalled of her decision to undergo a double mastectomy. Shes a rock musician with a squeaky-clean lifestyle and no family history of cancer. Sometimes I scream, and I get really angry," the actress, now in remission, said on Good Morning America, "I think it's all part of healing. Diagnosed in 2006, she had a lumpectomy and then six and a half weeks of radiation therapy, she told Good Morning America. And I just had no idea that the life it would save would be mine," she said. Minogue quickly had lumpectomy to remove the small tumor, followed by chemo. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Robach, an anchor on Good Morning America, in 2013 had a mammogram on live TV to mark the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since then, she's used her experience to encourage other women to always seek a second opinion and trust their instincts. 20 Celebrities With Breast Cancer Many celebrities have experienced breast cancer, including Christina Applegate, Shannen Doherty, and Wanda Sykes. Speaking to Vanity Fair in August 2019, Louis-Dreyfus revealed she had undergone six rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, after which she returned to film the final season of Veep, which earned her a seventh Emmy nomination,for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. "The one word I always saw in all the messages was strong," she has said. Invasive lobular carcinoma originates in the milk-producing glands (or lobules) of the breast. Like ductal carcinoma, it can metastasize and spread to other parts of the body. Read on for their inspiring stories! "After a surgical biopsy, they found the cancer.". "I found my lump in a self-exam!" Read about how these breast cancer survivors and others are using their star power to raise awareness. So Nixon started regular mammograms at 35, which is 15 years sooner than is generally advised for women without special risks. The professional organizer and star of Get Organized with the Home Edit was in New York City to film a segment for the Today show with her costar, best friend and business partner Joanna Teplin when she found two small lumps in her right breast during a self-exam. in February 2020 she revealed that it had returned as a Stage 4 metastatic cancer that had spread to her spine. Since she had a history of cancer on her mother's side of the family, the then 47-year-old Wanda Sykes decided to have a preventive double mastectomy. ", In 2017, Wilson penned an article in Harper's BAZAAR that talked about the aftermath of having breast cancer. She encourages all women, especially those with dense breasts like herself, not to skip this important exam. "Like many people, [Laign] had put off going to the doctor during the pandemic, and then at the end of last year, she followed through with a regular breast exam and it was discovered," Roberts said in her emotional appearance on Ellen. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, so Murphy who placed fifth on Sean Lowe's season of The Bachelor chose to get ahead of her diagnosis and have a preventative double mastectomy in April 2017. It turned out to be Stage 2 breast cancer. But Rancic, who underwent a double lumpectomy and a double mastectomy to treat the cancer, marked a very special milestone just months later: her first Mother's Day with son Edward Duke. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Since then, shes written a New York Times best-selling memoir and stays busy writing and making music with her children.. Tennis great Navratilova urges women not to put off regular mammograms like she used to. 15 Celebrities With Breast Cancer Share Their Experience "I could have been dead.". After finding a lump while adjusting her shirt, "I had the thought that, 'Wow, this is the moment.' The celebrated anchor of ABCs Good Morning America was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 at the age of 46. Rancic is now in full recovery after a double mastectomy, and she and husband Bill Rancic just welcomed their first child, Edward Duke, through a surrogate. After receiving a lumpectomy and losing half her breast, she was unsatisfied with the two most common breast reconstruction optionsbreast implants and TRAM flapand started researching alternatives. - Joan Lunden Joan Lunden is an accomplished author, journalist, television host, and a mother of seven. In early 2015, the singer and actress shared her diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma and underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery at age 58. News co-anchor Rancic was 36 and preparing to start her third round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in 2011 when a mammogram showed an early-stage breast tumor. Women aren't the only ones who can get breast cancer. I looked at my life; I looked at my body and spirit. "And hopefully you are. She is now a spokesperson for the Liv Breast Self Examination Kit, which assists women with early detection. Wilson was initially found to have lobular carcinoma in situ, which is not a cancer but which does raise your risk for invasive breast cancer. "It's hard to express what I've learned from that, but a deep psychological and emotional shift has obviously taken place. Dickinsons then-fianc, now-husband, Robert Rocky Gerner, MD, a psychiatrist, commented that his usually voluble bride-to-be was quieter following her diagnosis: She seems different. The 1970s icons doctor left it up to her whether to have chemo. Crow had a lumpectomy, which takes out only the cancerous tissue, plus 7 weeks of radiation therapy. This British actress was 73 and receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer when she began filming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I lost my hair. Translational research revealed an immune-related ILC subset, and in mouse ILC models, synergy between immune checkpoint blockade and platinum was observed. "I think it dawned on people that men can be affected by this, too." E! In 2015, she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a further preventive measure. Smith earlier had found a lump she wrongly thought was benign. All rights reserved. ', Olivia Newton-John's First Mammogram Didn't Detect Breast Cancer: 'Trust Your Instincts', 21-Year-Old Woman Died of Rare Bone Cancer After Being Told a Lump Was 'Nothing to Worry About', Martina Navratilova Diagnosed with Throat Cancer and Second Breast Cancer: 'Hoping for a Favorable Outcome', first husband Jay Monahan died of colon cancer in 1998, costar, best friend and business partner Joanna Teplin, in Sept. 2022 announced that she had finished her final round of chemo. Good Morning America: Shannen Doherty shares she has stage 4 breast cancer: Id rather people hear it from me., Los Angeles Times: Wanda Sykes' Double Mastectomy is Aggressive Treatment for DCIS., People: Wanda Sykes: My Breast Cancer Battle., Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center: Gratitude and Grace: The Sheryl Crow Interview., National Breast Cancer Foundation: Just Like Us: Celebrities Speak Up About Breast Cancer, What Does it Mean to Have Stage 3 Breast Cancer?, CNN: Christina Applegate: Why I Had a Double Mastectomy, Heinzs Form of Cancer Rare but Treatable, Navratilova: My Cancer Battle., The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation: Triple Negative Breast Cancer., The Telegraph (UK): Dame Maggie Smith Reveals Harry Potter Breast Cancer Treatment Struggle, Kylie Minogues Cancer was Misdiagnosed., ABC News: Maggie Smith Recounts Breast Cancer Battle., Good Housekeeping: Sandra Lee Offers a Deeper Look Into Her Breast Cancer Battle in a New HBO Documentary., AARP: Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge Beat Breast Cancer and Heartache., Today: Famous Breast Cancer Survivors., Glamour: Diary of a Mastectomy: Giuliana and Bill Rancic., The New Yorker: Julia Louis-Dreyfus Acts Out., Time: Julia Louis-Dreyfus on What She Learned From Battling Breast Cancer: 'Health Care Should Be For All. "I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. "Because I was familiar with my body and the lumps, I knew this one felt different. The room was totally silent," he later said. The ER actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 at the age of 42, just as she was offered a leading role in NBC's Parenthood. "I'm feeling great," she proclaimed to PEOPLE. Actress Jaclyn Smith's breast cancerwas found through her yearly mammogram and led to a lumpectomy and radiation in 2002.