Sending Prayers To ‘Baywatch’ Star Nicole Eggert, 52,– ‘Home Recovering’ From Mastectomy & ‘Just Trying To Live Her Best Life’ Before Getting Back To Breast Cancer Treatment

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nicole Eggert (@_nicole_eggert)

She continued, “A lot of people said the drains were the most annoying part. Maybe because I’ve had breast augmentations, the drains don’t surprise or bother me at all. What is bothersome is this big hard plastic deflated expander that’s protruding out of my chest, but they will begin filling that within about two weeks. So that will be fun to see and make me feel better … and start filling out the boob.

“Here’s an update. My cancer was very advanced, much more advanced than we anticipated and on, literally, the operating table my surgeon and I decided to just take the one boob and immediately get back into treatment.”

Eggert noted 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.

She explained further, “In order for me to get back into treatment immediately and recover the quickest was to take the one, and it keeps my immune system up more than if we had taken two. I can get back into treatment as soon. As soon as I am in treatment for three months, we will do a scan and make sure cancer is not showing up anywhere else and that it hasn’t traveled. And if it has, we can deal with it and we will be prepared and we can target it.

“But I didn’t want to take any chances and once that’s all in the clear and I go back for reconstruction on the one that we took, we will do the other one and they will be matching. And I’m way passed the emotional part. I’m more excited about having new perky boobs that aren’t trying to kill me.”

RELATED: Regretting Her Breast Implants, Baywatch Star Says The Enlargement Made It Harder To Detect Her Breast Cancer

Eggert admitted she’s in a “gray zone” once again, however, she knows the “safest, best bet” for her is to return to treatment and “not take any chances at all.”

“I’m happy about it, I’m not sad about it. So that’s what’s going on for now. I don’t know what kind of treatment, I will update you when I find out. My pathology reports just have to come back, and [I’m] just sitting here hoping and praying for the best. Just trying to live my best life and deal with it day by day.”

Before concluding her informative post, Eggert urged others to maintain hope through adversity, especially though battling a disease, because the “technology is amazing.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nicole Eggert (@_nicole_eggert)

After her mastectomy, she shared a selfie on her Instagram, writing, “This is the last pic of me and my girls. Happy to report this surgery went well,” alongside a quote by Anne Morrow Lindberg, which reads, “It isn’t for the moment you are stuck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security.”

Nicole Eggert’s Brave 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.

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.

RELATED: ‘Baywatch’ Star Nicole Eggert Goes Bald For Cancer Treatment amid Breast Cancer Journey 

“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.

Coping with Breast Cancer Surgery

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 Choose the Right Surgeon?

Surgical procedures such as a double mastectomy can be an emotional part of a woman’s breast cancer journey. Choosing the right surgeon is extremely important for such a heavy part of the process.

SurvivorNet doctors say women should trust their gut when choosing a surgeon.

“You shouldn’t just ask surgeons how many operations they’ve performed because volume is not necessarily the best indicator of the right surgeon for you. On the other hand, you don’t want a surgeon who is inexperienced,” urologic oncologist Dr. Jay Shah said.

Above all, Dr. Shah says people faced with a choice of surgeons should go with someone they feel they can trust.

WATCH: What to consider before a mastectomy. 

Understanding Stage 2 Breast Cancer & Treatment

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.

Breast Cancer: Introduction to Prevention & Screening

For anyone battling breast cancer, it’s important to understand that your doctor has many ways to treat breast cancer, including:

• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation
• Hormone therapy
• Targeted therapy
• Immunotherapy

‘It’s important to understand why your doctor is recommending a particular type of treatment,’ says Dr. Jessica Tao

Surgery

Most women with breast cancer will have surgery at some point in their treatment. Depending on how far your cancer has spread and your personal preferences, you and your doctor may decide to:

• Remove just the cancer and an area of healthy tissue around it (lumpectomy)
• Remove one breast (mastectomy)
• Remove both breasts (double mastectomy)

Removing your breasts can have a dramatic effect on your self-esteem, which is why some women who opt for a mastectomy then choose breast reconstruction surgery. This is a highly personal choice, and there is no “right” answer as to whether or not to reconstruct.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses strong drugs to kill cancer all over the body. You may get this treatment to shrink a tumor before surgery, afterward to get rid of any remaining cancer cells, or on its own if you can’t have surgery.

Whether or not to have chemotherapy can also be a choice, depending on a woman’s age, type of cancer, and stage.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells and is typically used after surgery to lower the chance that the cancer will come back after treatment. Many women undergo radiation as part of their treatment, especially if they opt for a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy.

Hormone Therapy

The hormones estrogen and progesterone help some breast cancers grow. Doctors refer to these types of cancers as hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers. Receptors are proteins on the surface of breast cells that receive messages from estrogen, progesterone, or both, telling them to grow. Treatments that block these hormones may help stop the tumor.

Testing the tumor sample from a biopsy helps to determine whether hormone therapies such as tamoxifen (Nolvadex) or anastrozole (Arimidex) might work against the cancer. Women with breast cancer that is fueled by estrogen may take one of these drugs as part of their treatment.

Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy

Immunotherapy and targeted therapies are newer forms of treatment. Immunotherapy boosts your body’s own immune response to help it stop the cancer.

As their name suggests, targeted therapies target certain substances that help the cancer grow. For example, drugs like trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) treat breast cancers that have too much of a protein called HER2 on their surface.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you are faced with a decision regarding getting breast reconstruction or some form of a mastectomy, here are some questions you can ask your doctor to learn the best option for you.

• What is the recovery time for each?
• What are the risks and the probability of each?
• What can I expect my breasts to look and feel like?
• Can I do reconstruction later?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing it now?
• Will my reconstruction options change if I wait?

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.