Finding Purpose Amid Adversity
- “Veep” and “Seinfeld” actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 63, says actress and friend Jane Fonda, 86, was her source of encouragement to launch her successful “Wiser Than Me” podcast to help share perspectives of an older woman.
- Louis-Dreyfus is an early-stage breast cancer survivor after she was diagnosed with the disease in 2017. Early-stage breast cancer means the tumors are either larger than stage one tumors or have moved to a few nearby lymph nodes. Standard of care treatment usually involves a
- Actress and activist Jane Fonda, 86, beat breast cancer in 2010 and skin cancer on her lip in 2018. She revealed that she was in remission from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (a type of blood cancer) last year.
- Lymphoma is a blood cancer, specifically of the immune system, that affects infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes. For non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients, their cancer is more likely to spread randomly and be discovered in different groups of lymph nodes in the body.
“Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 63, is more than a decorated actress; she’s a breast cancer survivor creating a space for older women to be authentically themselves. Louis-Dreyfus hosts an award-winning podcast, “Wiser Than Me,” inspired by fellow cancer survivor Jane Fonda, 86.
“I started the podcast because I saw an HBO documentary called ‘Jane Fonda in Five Acts,’” Louis-Dreyfus said to Movement Living.
Read More“We don’t do a deep dive very often into the lives of older women…I wish there were a podcast where we can hear from older women. Then I thought, maybe I’ll do the podcast. I’ll do the podcast I want to hear,” Louis-Dreyfus said.
When Louis-Dreyfus launched the podcast last year, Fonda was her first guest. The two discussed a variety of topics, including body image. The two friends also have something else in common aside from A-list actresses and cancer survivors.
Louis-Dreyfus, a mother of two, is an early-stage breast cancer survivor. Fond dealt with breast cancer in 2010 and skin cancer in 2018. She is also in remission after previously battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
Helping Patients Cope with a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Julia’s Breast Cancer Journey
Louis-Dreyfus was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. Her diagnosis came at an exciting time in her life and career, as she had just won an Emmy.
“The night before, I had won an Emmy. And so, I came downstairs and…the Emmy was there. It was like on the dining room table. I’m coming down to get coffee. My cell phone rings and it’s my doctor saying, ‘Guess what, you have cancer,’” Louis-Dreyfus said, according to People Magazine.
She was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. 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.
After her diagnosis, she shared the news publicly on her social media channels to an outpouring of support.
WATCH: Early-Stage Breast Cancer Testing
She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy during her treatment. Chemotherapy can cause several side effects, including nausea, vomiting, and hair loss. Your doctor can help you manage some of these side effects. Fortunately for hair loss, while it usually begins about three to four weeks after starting chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment, it usually regrows after treatment concludes.
WATCH: A Double Mastectomy Explained.
During a double mastectomy, both breasts are removed to get rid of cancer. The procedure may also be a preventative measure for women at high risk of developing breast cancer. Afterward, some women decide to have their breasts reconstructed and have implants put in, while others don’t have reconstruction at all.
“A double mastectomy typically takes about two hours for the cancer part of the operation, the removing of the tissue,” Dr. Elisa Port, Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System, tells SurvivorNet.
By October 2018, Louis-Dreyfus announced that she was “cancer-free.”
Jane’s Bouts With Cancer
Fonda announced in September 2022 that she had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer of the immune system, also described as blood cancers of lymphocytes.
Before her lymphoma diagnosis, she previously battled breast cancer in 2010, which involved her undergoing a lumpectomy. A few years later, she was diagnosed with skin cancer that was removed from her lip in 2018.
In an emotional post announcing her latest diagnosis, Fonda wrote, “This is a very treatable cancer … so I feel very lucky.”
“I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments,” she wrote. “This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.”
Fonda continued, “I’m also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. I realize, and it’s painful, that I am privileged in this.
“Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another, and far too many don’t have access to the quality health care I am receiving, and this is not right. We also need to be talking much more about cures and causes so we can eliminate them.”
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
“Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a big category,” Dr. Julie Vose, chief of hematology/oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
All non-Hodgkin lymphomas begin in white blood cells known as lymphocytes, which are part of your body’s immune system. From there, doctors separate these cancers into types depending on the specific kind of lymphocytes they grow from B cells or T cells.
Knowing which of these you have can help steer you to the most appropriate treatment.
One way doctors divide up these cancers is based on how fast they’re likely to grow and spread. “The two main classifications I think of in terms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma are lymphomas that are more indolent and those that are more aggressive because those are treated very differently,” Dr. Jennifer Crombie, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, tells SurvivorNet.
Once you’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the next question your doctor will want to answer is whether you have B-cell or T-cell lymphoma. That answer is important because it will help determine your treatment.
B-cells and T-cells are two kinds of lymphocytes. They’re both infection-fighting cells, but they work in different ways.
About 85% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas affect B cells. These cells produce antibodies and proteins that react to foreign substances in your body, like viruses or bacteria. The antibodies attach to another protein on the surface of the invading cells, called an antigen, to target and destroy them.
WATCH: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Treatment
Fonda underwent chemotherapy for treatment. Though she handled her first treatments “quite well,” her last two were “rough.” Thankfully, doctors told her she was in remission in December 2022.
The award-winning performer revealed in 2010 that she experienced a breast cancer scare after doctors discovered a small, non-invasive tumor. She underwent a procedure at the time, and her representative declared her “cancer-free.”
Her career highlights intertwined with her cancer treatments. In 2016, Fonda had a mastectomy before the Golden Globe Awards.
In 2018, while speaking on the “TODAY” show, Fonda wore bandages on her face and explained at the time she had cancer removed from her lip.
“Well, the world is falling apart; what’s a lip?” Fonda asked. “Yeah, they did (biopsy it.) I’m going to be fine, thanks.”
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