Actor Jenna Fischer announced she was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer last December and has been living “cancer-free” after treatment.
On Tuesday afternoon, Fischer wrote on Instagram that she underwent a lumpectomy to remove a tumour, as well as chemotherapy and radiation to treat her “aggressive” breast cancer.
Triple-positive breast cancer is known as a hormone receptor-positive cancer. This means tumour growth is encouraged by hormones including estrogen, progesterone and a protein called HER2, all of which naturally occur in the body.
October is breast cancer awareness month. Fischer, 50, said she chose to disclose her diagnosis now to “implore” others to get their annual mammograms. She additionally hoped her disclosure would be a “source of support” to anyone currently undergoing breast cancer treatment.
In her social media post, the sitcom star included a photo of herself with a “patchy pixie” haircut, “looking happy and healthy.”
Fischer said she had a routine mammogram in October 2023 that provided inconclusive results due to dense breast tissue.
Dense breasts put people at an increased risk of breast cancer and make the disease more difficult to detect with a standard mammogram. Breasts are composed of fat, glands and fibrous tissue, but if a person’s breast is composed of 50 per cent or more glands and fibrous tissue, it is considered dense. It is not possible to tell if your breasts are dense just by look, feel, size or firmness.
At the time of her mammogram, Fischer shared a photo to Instagram reminding women to schedule their own check-ups.
“Gotta take care of those ticking time bags ladies,” she wrote, a nod to Michael Scott’s own advice in The Office.
Fischer said her doctor ordered a breast ultrasound, during which her medical team discovered something abnormal in her left breast.
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She subsequently underwent a biopsy. On Dec. 1, 2023, Fischer said she learned of her Stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer diagnosis. After her lumpectomy, she said she completed 12 rounds of weekly chemotherapy, then three weeks of radiation treatment.
Fischer said she concealed her diagnosis by wearing wigs, and “hats with hair” so the public would not be aware of her hair loss. Imparting advice to her followers, Fischer wrote, “You can also ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score and get any additional screenings required. I’m serious, call your doctor right now.”
“My tumour was so small it could not be felt on a physical exam,” she continued. “If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse. It could have spread.”
Fischer said being diagnosed with cancer changed her life immediately, an experience familiar to so many who have had the disease.
“It becomes all about doctor’s appointments, test results, treatments and recovering from treatments,” she wrote. “Suddenly everything in your life is geared around one thing: fighting cancer.”
Fischer thanked her doctors, nurses, caregivers and loved ones for their support.
She said her kids, ages 10 and 13, are “great,” and that her cancer diagnosis was a “journey” they took as a family.
The actor specifically shared love for Angela Kinsey, who played Angela Martin in The Office, because she “protected me and advocated for me.”
Together the former co-stars run a podcast called Office Ladies, where they re-watch the successful mockumentary sitcom and provide behind-the-scenes stories from the set.
“For a long time, she was the only person in my workspace who knew,” Fischer said of Kinsey. “When I lost my hair, she wore hats to our work meetings so I wouldn’t be the only one. When I needed a break, we took one.”
In closing out her post, Fischer said her husband Lee asked if there was anything she wanted to do to celebrate after her final chemo and radiation treatments.
“I said I simply wanted to ring a bell, with the kids, in our backyard, with everyone throwing confetti,” she wrote. “So, we did it.”
Jenna Fischer celebrated being cancer-free by ringing a bell in a backyard celebration with her husband, Lee, and their two kids.
Instagram @msjennafischer
Fischer said she’s since been re-screened for cancer and has no evidence of disease.
“I will continue to be treated and monitored to help me stay that way,” she said.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, women and trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people between the ages of 40 and 74 years old should have a mammogram every two years.
“Not every province or territory offers mammograms through their organized program or by self-referral for people in their 40s,” the organization wrote. “We are advocating to ensure that women and trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people at average risk have fair and timely access to breast cancer screening, no matter where they live.”
So, if you’re due for a mammogram and have yet to schedule an appointment with your doctor, Fischer has asked that you consider her own announcement “your kick in the butt to get it done.”
“Take it from Pam and her Pam Pams. Michael was right,” Fischer joked in another reference to The Office. “Get ’em checked ladies. And know that should you get a breast cancer diagnosis, there is a village waiting to care for you.”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian women, with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancer. In Canada, one in eight women are expected to develop breast cancer during their lifetime, and one in 34 will die of it.
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