Facing a cancer diagnosis isn’t easy at any point, but for actress Cobie Smulders, she received the news in the peak of her career. The How I Met Your Mother star battled ovarian cancer at just 25 years old, but once finishing treatment, she’s been able to enjoy precious milestones such as starring in a new hit TV show, watching her kids grow up, and more.
Smulders, 38, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007 when she was 25 years old. Smulders was very young to face the disease, especially since ovarian cancer typically appears in women after menopause. At the time, she was in the middle of filming for beloved fan-favorite TV show How I Met Your Mother, and underwent multiple removal surgeries for treatment. In 2019, she announced that she had beaten the odds and gone into remission.
Read More“I think that going through [cancer] has made me a better person, a better mother, certainly able to tap into things in terms of creating characters, but I think the general overall gift if cancer can give you a gift is being grateful for being here,” Smulders said.
Breast cancer survivor Cynthia Besteman says being diagnosed made her put life into perspective
Sometimes, Cancer Can Change You For The Better
Facing a cancer diagnosis can really make you appreciate the people around you and what’s important in life. Breast survivor Dana Donofree has always been a hard worker and thrived on always being on the move. However, she tells SurvivorNet that her disease made her really take a moment to slow down and focus.
“I kind of think to myself that if I didn’t have cancer, I probably would have had a heart attack,” Dana says. “I know that sounds, maybe, really morbid and crazy, but I was going so hard and so fast that I just wanted it all, and that’s not healthy. I feel like cancer slowed me down, and it really allowed me to live in the moment.”
By taking time to focus on herself and family, Dana says she ended up being a better person as a result. While working nonstop, she never realized what an incredible support system she had until they faced this diagnosis together.
“I wouldn’t be a good person if I didn’t have cancer, and that’s kind of a really messed up thing to think about, but I wouldn’t have been focused on my family, and I wouldn’t have been as good of a friend,” says Dana. “I wouldn’t have been as good of a wife. So the opportunity to be a good person is something that really makes me happy and makes me feel honored that I got the chance to course correct.”
Breast cancer survivor Dana Donofree says cancer slowed her down, and ended up being a gift
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
