Embracing Love and Life After Cancer
- Jane Fonda, 85, revealed she has a “younger” dating preference as she’s on the cusp of turning 86. She’s endured several health scares in her life, including bouts with cancer.
- The actress and activist beat breast cancer in 2010 and skin cancer on her lip in 2018. She announced she was in remission from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma earlier this year.
- Cancer does not mean the end of your sex life — no matter what type you have. Different people react in different ways to treatment, so there’s no one way to guarantee you’ll still be having great sex all the time. However, there are so many different solutions to the various sexual problems that can develop during or after cancer treatment.
- Lymphoma is a blood cancer, specifically of the immune system, that affects infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes. For non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients, their cancer is more likely to spread randomly and be discovered in different groups of lymph nodes in the body.
- SurvivorNet experts encourage people to check their bodies regularly for unusual spots and moles. It’s recommended to use the acronym ABCDE, which helps you evaluate moles by focusing on their shape, size, and color to determine if melanoma skin cancer is likely.
Actress Jane Fonda, 85, appears to be open to finding love, but she’s come forward with a dating preference that skews younger. “I’m ashamed to say this: if I were to take a lover, he’d have to be 20…because I don’t like old skin,” Fonda said on a recent episode of “Absolutely Not.”
Fonda’s dating preference comes after the activist and actress endured three previous marriages. She’s also dealt with several health challenges, including a breast cancer diagnosis, skin cancer, and a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis.
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Finding Love After Cancer
Fonda’s dating comments may have a hint of comedic relief to them, but there could also be nuggets of truth behind her words. SurvivorNet has previously shared that dating and finding love as a cancer survivor can be a unique experience. Cancer can cause some serious changes to your mind and body. Women, in particular, can easily find themselves viewing themselves differently because society has imprinted the harmful belief that their value depends on their looks, sexuality, and functionality as a caretaker or mother. So, dating as a cancer survivor can be daunting.
Breast cancer survivor and author Laura Morton says her cancer history does not have to be hidden for her to have a successful dating life. She encourages others inspired by her story to practice transparency in their love life.
Morton says talking about how your cancer journey changed your life is also important. She notes that if a potential partner lacks empathy about everything you’ve gone through during your cancer journey, it may be worth reconsidering a serious relationship with that person.
In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, clinical psychologist Jeanne Carter discussed the emotional struggles she sees many women face when trying to have sex after or during cancer treatment.
“Sexuality is physical and emotional, and they’re completely enmeshed, so you can’t really treat this without addressing both of those issues,” the certified sexual health therapist with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center said. “I think women going through a cancer experience are just really trying to make sense of what their body is going through.”
Jane’s Bouts With Cancer
Fonda announced in September 2022 that she had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer of the immune system, also described as blood cancers of lymphocytes.
Before her lymphoma diagnosis, she previously battled breast cancer in 2010, which involved her undergoing a lumpectomy. A few years later, she was diagnosed with skin cancer that was removed from her lip in 2018.
In an emotional post announcing her latest diagnosis, Fonda wrote, “This is a very treatable cancer … so I feel very lucky.”
“I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments,” she wrote. “This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.”
Fonda continued, “I’m also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. I realize, and it’s painful, that I am privileged in this.
“Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another, and far too many don’t have access to the quality health care I am receiving, and this is not right. We also need to be talking much more about cures and causes so we can eliminate them.”
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
“Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a big category,” Dr. Julie Vose, chief of hematology/oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
All non-Hodgkin lymphomas begin in white blood cells known as lymphocytes, which are part of your body’s immune system. From there, doctors separate these cancers into types depending on the specific kind of lymphocytes they grow from B cells or T cells.
Knowing which of these you have can help steer you to the most appropriate treatment.
One way doctors divide up these cancers is based on how fast they’re likely to grow and spread. “The two main classifications I think of in terms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma are lymphomas that are more indolent and those that are more aggressive because those are treated very differently,” Dr. Jennifer Crombie, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, tells SurvivorNet.
Once you’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the next question your doctor will want to answer is whether you have B-cell or T-cell lymphoma. That answer is important because it will help determine your treatment.
B-cells and T-cells are two kinds of lymphocytes. They’re both infection-fighting cells, but they work in different ways.
Most non-Hodgkin lymphomas, about 85%, affect B-cells. These cells produce antibodies and proteins that react to foreign substances in your body, like viruses or bacteria. The antibodies attach to another protein on the surface of the invading cells, called an antigen, to target and destroy them.
WATCH: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Treatment
Fonda underwent chemotherapy for treatment. Though she handled her first treatments “quite well,” her last two were “rough.” Thankfully, doctors told her she was in remission in December 2022.
The award-winning performer revealed in 2010 that she experienced a breast cancer scare after doctors discovered a small, non-invasive tumor. She underwent a procedure at the time, and her representative declared her “cancer-free.”
Her career highlights intertwined with her cancer treatments. In 2016, Fonda had a mastectomy before the Golden Globe Awards.
In 2018, while speaking on the “TODAY” show, Fonda wore bandages on her face and explained at the time she had cancer removed from her lip.
“Well, the world is falling apart; what’s a lip?” Fonda asked. “Yeah, they did (biopsy it.) I’m going to be fine, thanks.”
RELATED: Get Your Moles Evaluated to Rule Out Melanoma
Questions for Your Doctor
If you are facing a lymphoma diagnosis, here are some questions you can ask your doctor to begin your journey to a successful outcome.
- What type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma do I have?
- What stage of my lymphoma is in, and if it has spread, how far?
- Do we need to treat the lymphoma immediately?
- What treatment do you recommend to help me beat this diagnosis?
- Should I get more opinions about the treatment options available?
- What are some possible side effects I should expect during treatment?
Will insurance cover the recommended treatment?
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