Washington [US]: Jenna Fischer, the actress best known for her role as Pam Beesly in the popular TV series 'The Office', opened up about being diagnosed with Stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer in December 2023. However, she shared that now she is fine and cancer-free, reported Page Six.
Taking to her Instagram handle, she shared her health update with her followers. "October is breast cancer awareness month. I never thought I'd be making an announcement like this but here we are. Last December, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Triple Positive Breast Cancer."
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She shared that after going through treatment, chemotherapy and surgeries, she is now cancer-free. "After completing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation I am now cancer free."
Jenna added, "I wanted a photo of myself in my patchy pixie looking happy and healthy to go along with this news. A big thank you to Angela Kinsey's husband Josh Snyder for taking this photo. It's just one example of the care they showed me during this journey."
She continued to share the details, "Back in October of 2023 I posted a photo of myself on Instagram preparing for my routine mammogram with a joking reminder to 'take care of your ticking time bags' a la Michael Scott," Fischer explained, mentioning that a routine mammogram had identified a small tumour, which required her to undergo 12 rounds of weekly therapy in February, followed by three weeks of radiation in June.
"Triple positive breast cancer is an aggressive form of breast cancer but it is also highly responsive to treatment," Fischer explained.
In January, she had a lumpectomy to remove the tumour. Fortunately, her cancer was "caught early and it hadn't spread into [her] lymph nodes or throughout the rest of [her] body," the aggressive nature of the cancer "still required chemotherapy and radiation to be sure it didn't return."
The actress then began 12 rounds of chemo in February, followed by three weeks of radiation in June.
"I lost my hair during chemotherapy but thanks to some great wigs and hats with hair (which my family affectionately called Wigats) I have been able to wait until now to reveal all that has been going on for me," Fisher wrote.
"And while I continue to be treated with infusions of Herceptin and a daily dose of Tamoxifen," she added, "I'm happy to say I'm feeling great."
She shared why she decided to reveal her battle with cancer publicly, saying, "I'm serious, call your doctor right now," she said. She shared how her tumour was so small it couldn't even be detected during a physical exam. "If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse. It could have spread...Consider this your kick in the butt to get it done."
"My tumor was so small it could not be felt on a physical exam. If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse. It could have spread."
Fischer continued, "As anyone who has had a cancer diagnosis knows, your life changes immediately. It becomes all about doctor appointments, test results, treatments and recovering from treatments. Suddenly everything in your life is geared around one thing: fighting cancer."
Fischer extended gratitude to her The Office co-star, Angela Kinsey.
"Thankfully I've been able to keep working during treatments. This was all because I work with my best friend Angela Kinsey who protected me and advocated for me," Fischer penned, adding that Kinsey was at one point "the only person in [her] workspace who knew."
"When I lost my hair," Fischer shared, "she wore hats to our work meetings so I wouldn't be the only one. When I needed a break, we took one."
She concluded her message by expressing gratitude to her husband, who was "literally by her side" during her "surgeries, chemotherapy, doctor appointments, endless googling and late night ugly cries."
"After my final chemo and radiation treatments Lee asked me if there was anything I wanted to do to celebrate. I said I simply wanted to ring a bell, with the kids, in our backyard, with everyone throwing confetti. So, we did it," she shared, adding, she was "recently re-screened, and the treatments worked" because she continues to be "cancer-free, " reported Page Six.
—ANI