Celebrities with Breast Cancer
One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Women have a one in eight chance of being diagnosed, and your favorite actresses and singers aren’t exempt from that risk.
Celebrities fight every day battles just like the rest of us, including cancer. Wanda Sykes, Sheryl Crow, Robin Roberts, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kathy Bates, Betsey Johnson, Rita Wilson, and so many other famous celebrities have experienced a breast cancer diagnosis and faced the challenges of treatment and recovery. While their income definitely impacts their access to treatment and the types of care they receive, the emotional challenges and fears are likely very similar to what each of us experiences.
Let’s take a look at what some celebrities have shared about their experience with breast cancer.
Christina Applegate
Christina always knew she was at a larger risk for breast cancer because her mother was diagnosed with it in her 30s and again in her 50s. She decided to follow the early detection plan and started her screenings at 30. At 36 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She then did genetic testing and when she tested positive for the BRCA1 gene, she decided to get a double mastectomy, partially to remove the cancer that was discovered, but also to mitigate the risk of breast cancer recurrence in the other breast.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie made headlines and brought significant attention to prophylactic surgery options when she tested positive for the BRCA1 gene. She decided to get a double mastectomy while in her 30s and decreased her chance of getting breast cancer from 87% to 5% chance. Public awareness of BRCA gene mutations and options available to pre-vivors skyrocketed as a result of her discovery.
Robin Roberts
Robin Roberts discovered a lump during a self-exam in 2007, and after a biopsy and an ultrasound, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Roberts underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Her mother told her, “Make a mess your message,” and so she was public about her cancer struggles and even won awards for her courage in raising awareness. She encourages others to do frequent self-breast exams because up to 40% of breast cancers are found as a result of doing your own self-exam.
Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykes, a well-known comedian, went in for a breast reduction surgery, and pathology of sample tissue from the procedure showed she had breast cancer in her milk ducts. Sykes chose to have a double mastectomy instead of a lumpectomy because her mother had also had breast cancer and she wanted to minimize the risk of recurrence.
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow had no history of breast cancer in her family and her lifestyle was reported as “squeaky-clean.” That said, she had dense breasts (like many young women), which made it difficult for self breast exams and screenings to reveal breast cancer in the tissue. In 2006, her mammogram raised some red flags, and her radiologist told her to come back in 6 months, but her OBGYN recommended doing a biopsy to check her tissue samples. The results showed she had DCIS (or cancer that remained in her milk ducts). Crow chose to have a lumpectomy to remove the breast cancer in her ducts and followed surgery with 7 weeks of radiation therapy.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
The morning after Julia Louis-Dreyfus won her sixth Emmy, her biopsy came back positive for breast cancer. Louis-Dreyfus underwent chemotherapy to destroy her breast cancer. She used her experience and fame to push for universal health care and to help women afford breast reconstruction.
Celebrities certainly enjoy some advantages over the public when it comes to their healthcare, but they also help draw attention to important education and health-related hot topics. And, some find it helpful to relate the experience of a celebrity with their own experience with breast cancer.
Do you relate to any of these celebrity breast cancer experiences? Have any of their experiences with breast cancer and treatment impacted your breast cancer journey? We’d love to hear from you.