Rita Remembers COVID-19 Anniversary
- Actress Rita Wilson, 64, and husband Tom Hanks contracted COVID-19 last year while in Australia; in a vulnerable post, the actress expresses hope and gratitude for her medical team.
- Wilson is a breast cancer survivor; cancer patients and survivors may be more susceptible to contracting COVID-19, due to some therapies.
- To keep yourself safe during COVID-19, follow the CDC’s safety advice, which includes things like maintaining social distance, washing your hands and wearing a mask.
As a breast cancer survivor, Wilson may have been more vulnerable to getting the coronavirus, and we’re so happy that she and Hanks made a full recovery.
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Rita’s Breast Cancer Battle
Wilson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She underwent a mastectomy, followed by reconstruction surgery, to treat her cancer. The actress and singer's diagnosis was invasive lobular carcinoma.
Breast cancer is typically detected via a mammogram, the screening method for breast cancer, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and early signs of breast cancer. Dr. Connie Lehman, the chief of Breast Imaging Division at Massachusetts General Hospital, says in an earlier interview, “If you haven’t gone through menopause yet, I think it’s very important that you have a mammogram every year.”
“We know that cancers grow more rapidly in our younger patients, and having that annual mammogram can be lifesaving,” says Dr. Lehman. “After menopause, it may be perfectly acceptable to reduce that frequency to every two years. But what I’m most concerned about is the women who haven’t been in for a mammogram for two, three, or four years, those women that have never had a mammogram. We all agree regular screening mammography saves lives.”
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
Protecting Yourself During COVID-19
For survivors such as Rita Wilson, protecting yourself from the coronavirus is a serious priority. People who have gone through or are currently going through treatment for cancer may be at a higher risk of contracting the disease. This is because certain treatments, such as chemotherapy blunt the immune system.
Managing cancer treatments during COVID-19 may be difficult, due to the increased safety precautions. By following the guidelines laid about by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), you can increase your level of protection against the virus. The CDC recommends you wear a mask, stand 6 feet away from people, avoid crowds, wash hands often and monitor your health daily.
How Do Doctors Manage Ovarian Cancer in the Time of COVID?
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