Notaro's Gratitude
- Comedian Tig Notaro beat breast cancer and shares a life update on Instagram, saying she’s so grateful for her family.
- She was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2012 and famously incorporated her diagnosis into her stand-up set.
- Having a strong support system through cancer, such as family or a spouse or friends, can make a huge difference; being grateful has shown to positively impact the cancer journey, too.
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Notaro’s Cancer Journey
Tig Notaro was 42 when she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. A week after her diagnosis, she incorporated the news of her breast cancer into a now-famous stand-up bit. "Hello, I have cancer,” said Notaro to a crowd at a Los Angeles comedy club in 2012, when she was diagnosed.
Notaro’s cancer was detected via mammogram, which screens for this disease. "I really was the person that did not believe I could have cancer," she told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview. "I thought I was too young, and I didn't know anyone in my family that had had breast cancer. I did not think it was anything. I was completely shocked."
"Then I remember when my doctor came in with a kind of concerned look, and the first thing she said was, 'How are you feeling?' I said okay, but the tone was telling."
To treat her disease, Notaro had a double mastectomy, and today she’s cancer-free.
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Support & Gratitude Through Cancer
Notaro shares with her fans and followers how grateful she is to have family, especially when things feel hard. Support through cancer treatment can make the world of a difference, whether it’s support from friends, family, spouses, or fellow cancer fighters in a support group.
Related: For Ovarian Cancer Patients, Support Groups Can Offer Comfort and Encouragement
In an earlier interview, Cedars-Sinai’s Dr. Zuri Murrell shares the importance of gratitude like Notaro’s, and having a positive attitude through cancer. He says, “My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they’re diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK.”
“Now doesn’t that mean I’m good at saying that the cancer won’t grow,” he says. “But I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
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