Actress Jenna Fischer, best known for playing Pam Beesly on the hit NBC sitcom The Office, recently revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year but is currently cancer free.
“October is breast cancer awareness month,” Fischer began in a Tuesday Instagram post. “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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“After completing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation I am now cancer free,” Fischer continued. “I wanted a photo of myself in my patchy pixie looking happy and healthy to go along with this news.”
In her post, the actress included a longer statement in which she elaborated on the breast cancer diagnosis:
Back in October 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. After inconclusive results on that mammogram due to dense breast tissue, my doctor ordered a breast ultrasound. They found something in my left breast. A biopsy was ordered. Then, on December 1, 2023, I learned I had stage 1 triple positive breast cancer.
Triple positive breast cancer is an aggressive form of breast cancer but it is also highly responsive to treatment. In January, I had a lumpectomy to remove the tumor. Luckily my cancer was caught early and it hadn’t spread into my lymph nodes or throughout the rest of my body, however because of the aggressive nature of triple positive breast cancer it still required chemotherapy and radiation to be sure it didn’t return. In February I began 12 rounds of weekly chemotherapy, and in June I started three weeks of radiation. And while I continue to be treated with infusions of Herceptin and a daily dose of Tamoxifen, I’m happy to say I’m feeling great.
“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,” Fischer added.
The actress went on to say that she decided to make this announcement “for a few reasons.”
“One, I’m ready to ditch the wigs,” she said. “Two, to implore you to get your annual mammograms. 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 doctors right now.”
“If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse,” Fischer revealed. “It could have spread. Seeing women post photos of their mammogram appointments on Instagram needled me into setting my own (which I was late for). I’m so glad I did.”
“Consider this your kick in the butt to get it done,” the Giant Mechanical Man actress said.
Fischer warned that when someone receives a cancer diagnosis, “your life changes immediately.”
“It becomes all about doctor appointments, test results, treatments, and recovering from treatments,” she said. “Suddenly everything in your life is geared around one thing: fighting cancer.”
The actress thanked her team of doctors and nurses, as well as her friends, family, and fellow cancer survivors for helping her during these trying times.
“After my final chemo and radiation treatments, [my husband] 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,” Fischer said, sharing a photo of the moment in her Instagram post.
“I’m happy to say that I was recently re-screened, and the treatments worked. I am cancer free,” she added. “I will continue to be treated and monitored to help me stay that way.”
“Again, don’t skip your mammogram,” Fischer implored. “And know that should you get a breast cancer diagnosis, there is a village waiting to care for you.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
