Nicole Eggert's Breast Cancer Battle
- “Baywatch” star Nicole Eggert, 52, is enduring “aches and pains” after recently undergoing a surgical removal of one breast amid her battle against stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer, but she’s maintained a smile on her face despite feeling anxiety.
- Stage 2 breast cancers are either larger than stage 1 tumors or have moved to a few nearby lymph nodes. Treatment will likely be some combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. If chemotherapy is also needed after surgery, the radiation is delayed until the chemo is done. The same approach is taken to hormone receptor and HER2 positive as stage 1.
- In Eggert’s case, she has already finished up eight rounds of chemotherapy over the course of six months, and underwent surgery to remove the cancer. She’s waiting to get a breast reconstruction and another 18 rounds of treatment.
- A cancer diagnosis can have a profound impact on mental health, affecting patients, survivors, and their loved ones in a variety of ways. Some ways a diagnosis can reveal itself in your mental health can be through added stress and anxiety, mood swings, depression, and social isolation.
- Coping with a diagnosis or some other stressor in your life can be an emotional experience that affects your mental health. Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik suggests people facing these challenges tap into their support group to help navigate their emotions.
The 52-year-old mom of two, who recently underwent a mastectomy [the surgical removal of one breast] amid getting treated against stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer, took to Instagram this week to offer a health update to her fans.
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She continued, noting how she is doing well and taking “good care” of herself, “I just want to say pictured are deceiving and I am experiencing a lot of pain. This isn’t easy and don’t be fooled by me smiling all of the time.
“I haven’t been able to walk the past two days. It’s been rough … so, I have as lot of aches and pains and it’s been rough from behind the smile. As much as I am happy, and that my body responds well to treatment and moving along, do see the light at the end of the tunnel … but there’s a lot of stuff going on. Don’t let it fool you.”
Eggert’s update comes after she announced on Instagram in September that her cancer was “much more advanced than we anticipated and on,” adding, “[on] the operating table my surgeon and I decided to just take the one boob and immediately get back into treatment.”
She said at the time that she did have a “good MRI” and responded “wonderfully to the chemo,” however, she knows that doesn’t mean that some of the cancer didn’t spread outside of her breast.
We’re happy to see her pushing through this difficult time with resilience and maintaining hope for the future, something many cancer warriors can look up to.
Nicole Eggert’s Cancer Journey
Nicole Eggert was diagnosed in December 2023 with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer after discovering a lump in her breast while performing a self-breast exam.
A self-breast exam is an easy way to keep watch for anything abnormal regarding your breasts. It involves feeling the breast for any swelling, bulging, or changes in the shape of the breast or nipple. Checking for signs of redness, rashes, or discharge is also part of this exam. If anything is found to be concerning, you should contact your doctor. It’s important to note that self-exams should be done with regular mammograms.
RELATED: ‘Baywatch’ Star Nicole Eggert Goes Bald For Cancer Treatment amid Breast Cancer Journey
Eggert said she initially started experiencing “terrible pain” and rapid weight gain that she first dismissed for signs of menopause. However, after she discovered a lump during a self-exam, a mammogram and multiple biopsies confirmed that she had breast cancer.
The rare type of breast cancer Eggert has is often slow-growing and low-grade, according to Breast Cancer Now.
“I can definitely feel it. It’s there. It needs to be taken out. So it’s just a matter of do I have to do treatment before the surgery or can they perform the surgery and then I do the treatment after,” Eggert told People earlier this year.
Eggert’s treatment plan included eight rounds of chemotherapy over the course of six months, and was followed by surgery to remove the cancer via a mastectomy.
She’ll soon be undergoing another 18 rounds of treatment, however, she has not specified the exact type of treatment she will be getting.
Helping Patients Better Understand a Mastectomy
- Should I Have a Lumpectomy or Mastectomy?
- Implant Reconstruction After a Mastectomy: The Options
- The Last Frontier: The Promise of Restoring Sensation After Mastectomy
- To Reconstruct or Not: After Mastectomy, Two Women Take Very Different Paths
- What Happens During a Double Mastectomy?
- What is Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy?
Understanding Stage 2 Breast Cancer & Coping With Surgery
Stage 2 breast cancers are either larger than stage 1 tumors or have moved to a few nearby lymph nodes. Treatment will likely be some combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. If chemotherapy is also needed after surgery, the radiation is delayed until the chemo is done. The same approach is taken to hormone receptor and HER2 positive as stage 1.
In Nicole Eggert’s case, her treatment included eight rounds of chemotherapy over the course of six months, which was followed by surgery to remove the cancer. Now she’s waiting to start up on another 18 rounds of treatment.
When it comes to deciding to get a mastectomy, like Eggert underwent, is a considerable step you and your care team must carefully go over.
A mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast during surgery. There are several factors to weigh when considering a mastectomy, such as if breast-conserving surgery (or lumpectomy) is possible. Your doctor will evaluate the size and features of your tumor and your family history to make a recommendation.
In some cases, a double mastectomy is a viable treatment option. During this procedure, both breasts are removed to get rid of cancer. A double mastectomy may also be performed as a preventative measure for women who are at a very high risk of developing breast cancer.
WATCH: When to consider a mastectomy?
How To Manage Anxiety During High-Stress Times
Battling a mental health issue, cancer, or learning to move forward after treatment can be an extremely stressful time for so many people. How can you manage your anxiety while dealing with so many other things?
RELATED: What You Need to Know About Stress
Dr. Marianna Strongin, a clinical psychologist and founder of Strong In Therapy, has been helping the SurvivorNet community by sharing coping mechanisms and a structured way to think about handling these issues.
“The way that I define anxiety is that it’s an internal question that we simply can’t find the answers to,” Dr. Strongin previously toldSurvivorNet.
Dr. Strongin says that one of the main causes of anxiety is uncertainty about life, and a cancer battle can fuel anxiety for individuals because of the lack of uncertainty about the future.
Many people will turn to media platforms for answers, but Dr. Strongin says that individuals often end up with more questions as a result which leads to more anxiety.
The first step for coping during stressful circumstances is understanding one’s anxiety. To do this, Dr. Strongin suggests checking in with oneself everyday to see where the anxiety is manifesting and what questions are causing the anxiety. From there, it’s important to answer those questions and reassure oneself with positivity.
“The answers are our coping skills,” Dr. Strongin says. “Some people are really good at always giving themselves answers…other people don’t have the coping skills to answer their anxiety and as a result the anxiety increases. … We are all facing the same questions.”
She continues, “Some are facing them much more than others and some are better at answering those questions than others. What’s really important is to pay attention to is what those questions are, what the frequency of those questions are, and how you’re answering them.”
Managing Your Mental Health
A diagnosis of cancer or disease or some external stressor like a troubled relationship can offset your mental health in ways you least expect.
Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik says your emotions will be fluid when facing a diagnosis. SurvivorNet has some tips to help keep your mental and emotional health in a good space if you find yourself coping with a stressful situation.
The National Institute of Mental Health says you should seek professional help if you are experiencing severe or distressing symptoms that have lasted two weeks or more, such as:
- Trouble sleeping
- Changes in appetite
- Struggling to leave bed in the morning because of your mood
- Trouble concentrating
- Loss of interest in things you usually enjoy
- Inability to perform normal daily functions and responsibilities
Equally as important is recognizing the value of self-care. The National Institute of Mental Health offers practical guidance on how to boost your weekly self-care routine.
- Regularly exercising
- Eating healthy, regular meals
- Staying hydrated
- Prioritizing sleep
- Exploring relaxation programs or techniques
- Setting goals/priorities
- Staying positive
- Connecting with others
Genetic testing can also help people wrestling with their mental health. It has been shown to match people with the best medication for mental health treatment. While genetic testing has helped make treatment plans for other diseases, such as certain types of cancer, the ability to use it to help people suffering from anxiety and depression is relatively new.
“Doing the genetic testing has absolutely transformed the landscape of psycho-pharmacology,” psychiatrist Dr. Plutchik tells SurvivorNet.
“It’s something that I highly recommend for anybody that is taking medication, whether they are being treated for cancer or not … I recommend it for children who are taking medication. I recommend it for elderly people. Anybody who is taking medication, I think, can greatly benefit from genetic testing,” Dr. Plutchik added.
WATCH: How genetic testing can help improve your mental health.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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