‘The Office’ star Jenna Fischer reveals ‘aggressive’ breast cancer diagnosis
Global News
Jenna Fischer was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer in December — now, she's encouraging others to 'take care of those ticking time bags.'
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.
