“I’m so happy to be alive. I know I am very fortunate.”
With Breast Cancer Awareness Month right around the corner, many celebrities have shared their story about overcoming the disease. As 1 in 8 women in the U.S. are estimated to deal with breast cancer during their lifetime, it’s important to hear other’s stories of their recovery. While it may be difficult to relive the experience, these stars know that by sharing their story, they’re helping and inspiring millions of other women.
Here’s what these stars had to say about their experience…
1. Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista just revealed that she’s secretly been battling breast cancer. In 2018, she was first diagnosed with the illness and underwent a bilateral mastectomy. Although she thought she “was good and set for life,” she discovered another lump in 2022. She was diagnosed with cancer of the pectoral muscle and since then, she has undergone more surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. While she says her health is “good,” her Oncotype score, which predicts the likelihood of cancer returning, is unfortunately “horrible.”
“I am very positive. It’s the new me. I think going through hardships and coming through the other end has made me focus only on the good things. I’m so happy to be alive. I know I am very fortunate,” she told Vanity Fair.
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2. Julia Louis-Dreyfus
In 2017, Julia Louis-Dreyfus shared that she had been diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. Over the next few months, filming on Julia’s show Veep was put on pause as she had a double mastectomy and underwent six rounds of chemotherapy. Just a year later, she was declared cancer-free.
“Frankly, I would never have made this a public journey, but I kind of had to, given the circumstances, because our show had to shut down for a period of time. I think I reached a lot of people. I was able to raise a lot of money for women who have had mastectomies, who need reconstruction but insurance doesn’t cover that, and I was really happy to be able to do that. The outpouring of support was quite overwhelming,” she said on Good Morning America.
3. Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 when she was 36. As her mother had also dealt with the disease and Christina had tested positive for the BRCA gene, she decided to have a double mastectomy.
“That sort of changed everything for me. Radiation was something temporary, and it wasn’t addressing the issue of this coming back or the chance of it coming back in my left breast. I sort of had to kind of weigh all my options at that point,” Christina told Oprah.com. “It just seemed like, ‘I don’t want to have to deal with this again. I don’t want to keep putting that stuff in my body. I just want to be done with this.’ And I was just going to let them go.”
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4. Cynthia Nixon
After a routine mammogram in 2006, Cynthia Nixon learned that she had stage I breast cancer — news that she says didn’t come as a surprise as her mother had also battled the disease. Cynthia went on to have a lumpectomy followed by just over six weeks of radiation therapy. She was later declared cancer-free.
“My mother had breast cancer when I was 13, and she survived. When I was diagnosed, my wife…went into shock about it. She was really scared. I was much less scared because I understood they caught it very early. It hadn’t metastasized at all. And it was in this one very local, small place. Because of not only my mother’s experience, but also my mother’s attitude, I viewed it with caution,” she told Parade years later. “I did all the things advised for me to do, but I tried my best to keep my fear to a minimum.”
5. Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykes learned that she had breast cancer after undergoing a breast reduction procedure. She explained that in the lab work, she learned that she had ductal carcinoma in situ [DCIS] in her left breast, which she described as “basically stage-zero cancer.” She ultimately decided to have a bilateral mastectomy.
“Cancer is cancer. I had the choice of, you can go back every three months and get it checked. Have a mammogram, MRI every three months just to see what it’s doing. But, I’m not good at keeping on top of stuff. I’m sure I’m overdue for an oil change and a teeth cleaning already,” she said on The Ellen Show, adding, “I have a lot of breast cancer history on my mother’s side of the family… I had both breasts removed because now I have zero chance of having breast cancer.”
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6. Rita Wilson
Rita Wilson has closely monitored her breast health through the years and in 2015, she underwent two surgical breast biopsies. While no cancer was initially detected, a friend urged Rita to get a second opinion. After speaking with another doctor, invasive lobular carcinoma was discovered. Rita opted to have a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction.
“I share this to educate others that a second opinion is critical to your health,” she told People. “You have nothing to lose if both opinions match up for the good, and everything to gain if something that was missed was found. I hope this will encourage others to get a second opinion and trust their instincts if something doesn’t ‘feel’ right.”
7. Kylie Minogue
In 2005, Kylie Minogue learned that she had breast cancer after initially being misdiagnosed. Despite feeling that the “earth had kind of slipped off its axis,” she pushed onwards and underwent a lumpectomy and chemotherapy. In 2006, she was declared cancer-free.
“It’s a huge change, and it is before and after,” she told People 15 years after her diagnosis. “Life is a series of challenges and you aim to have as many good times as possible. At this stage in my life I really feel like life is just made of moments, and the more moments that can be good, try to acknowledge that that was a good moment. Because it’s all coming at you, good and bad.”
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8. Hoda Kotb
In 2007, Hoda Kotb was diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump in her breast. She underwent a mastectomy and while she was then cancer-free, she says the healing process was a journey for her.
“You don’t realize how long the journey is. I remember really clearly, after my cancer surgery — I did a surgery where it was a mastectomy, but they also did a hip-to-hip incision to do some moving things around — but anyway, I remember, afterwards, having to get washed in the hospital. I hadn’t seen [the scarring], because I just hadn’t looked at it,” she said on Today, adding, “You know when you look, and you’re like, ‘That’s me now?!… You don’t see it as: The cancer is gone. Right then, that moment, you see it as this horrible [thing].”
Thankfully, Hoda’s perception changed over time with the help of another woman who had been through the same thing.
9. Kathy Bates
In 2012, Kathy Bates was diagnosed with breast cancer, almost a decade after she had battled ovarian cancer. Kathy opted to have a double mastectomy and admits the battle was more tough the second time around.
“Breast cancer was much more difficult for me than the ovarian. Obviously, losing one’s breast on the outside of the body is much more noticeable. And I was in a lot of pain, which I wasn’t with ovarian,” she told Yahoo!
Although she is now cancer-free, Kathy says she still struggles with lymphedema, which developed due to the doctor’s removal of some of her lymph nodes to keep the cancer from spreading. Through it all, Kathy still says she’s one of the “lucky ones” and the experience made her “stronger.”
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10. Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge was on tour in 2004 when she discovered a lump in her breast. After a biopsy, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy and then surgery to remove multiple lymph nodes after the cancer spread. Melissa also underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy — and was eventually declared cancer-free. Looking back, she says her cancer journey changed her perspective on her music career.
“After cancer, I resolved that I was never going to think of ‘Is there going to be a hit?’ I am going to create music I want to play live. I want people going to my concerts and performances to say, ‘Oh, this is on my bucket list. To see Melissa Etheridge in concert is an experience everyone should want to experience,'” she told The Daily Beast.
11. Katie Couric
In 2022, Katie Couric shared that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer after it was detected in a mammogram. Despite the fact that Katie hadn’t had a mammogram in two years, it was still caught early. She underwent a lumpectomy to remove the tumor and later underwent radiation treatments.
“I just feel super lucky that it was diagnosed when it was, that I went even though I was late, that I went when I did,” she said on the Today show.
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12. Giuliana Rancic
Giuliana Rancic was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 after undergoing a mammogram before going through another round of IVF. Shortly after, she had a double mastectomy. Giuliana was declared cancer-free and now over a decade after her battle, Giuliana says she’s glad it was caught early.
“My biggest self-discovery after cancer and treatment was realizing I was stronger than I had thought I was. I love knowing that I have come out of that experience a stronger woman,” Giuliana told E! News. “I am so happy to be cancer free for 10 years and am so thankful that I was able to find my breast cancer early.”
13. Edie Falco
In 2003, Edie Falco was told she had breast cancer. She quickly began treatment, undergoing a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. She was eventually deemed cancer-free a year later in 2004. Looking back, Edie says her cancer journey changed her in a lot of ways, most significantly helping her realize she wanted to have children.
“I had eight months of treatment, and in the spring of 2004, when I was given a clean bill of health, I had one of those moments of clarity where all questions and debates just fall away. The direction was clear: I didn’t have to wait for the right man, or to be more ready, or to have more money or a bigger apartment. It was time for me to start a family on my own,” she wrote in an essay for Oprah.com.
