Edie Falco's Secret Soprano Wigs, And How Surviving Cancer Made Her Realize She Wanted To Be A Mom

With the film being released as sequel to the highly successful movie Avatar a whopping 13 years later, it should come as no surprise that the production and its cast have received quite a lot of press.

But instead of focusing on her successful career and upcoming film, we’d like to focus on her story as a breast cancer survivor.

The Avatar Star Tackles Cancer

Edie Falco was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 in the midst of shooting season three of “The Sopranos.”

“I was diagnosed in the morning, but I had to be at work at 1:00 to shoot a scene in which Tony and Carmela were sitting at a table I think it was after they had separated and Tony said something like, ‘I'm going to take you for every cent you're worth,'” she told the Television Academy Foundation. “I couldn't remember my lines; it was a real out-of-body experience. I couldn't process the news I had just gotten, and I hadn't really told anyone but executive producer Ilene Landress, who is still a good friend.

“It was a crazy day, but it was easier to get to some of the darker emotions. Jim came up to me and said, ‘Something's going on.’ I said, ‘Yes, it is.’ He said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘I'll tell you in a little time.’

We don’t know much about Falco’s course of treatment, but it was about eight months long. All the while, she stayed busy at work.

“They always used my real hair in the show, and then I had to talk to them about making wigs, so the hairdresser knew about it, too,” she said of filming “The Sopranos” during treatment. “They started getting me ready in my own little section of the trailers so I could have privacy.

“But other than that, things just sort of chugged along. I dealt with this on my own, with my friends and my family, which is what worked for me.”

Falco was deemed healthy in the spring of 2004. At the same time, she came to the very important realization that she wanted to be a mother.

“I never really thought I’d have kids,” she told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Then the cancer thing kicked in. Once I realized I wasn’t going to die, it was like a light going on. I knew I wanted to be a mother.”

Falco adopted her son, Anderson Falco, in 2005, and her daughter, Macy Falco, in 2008.

“They're amazing children and we bring out the best in each other, which is what family should do for each other,” she said of her children.

Understanding Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a common cancer that has been the subject of much research. Many women develop breast cancer every year, but men can develop this cancer too though it is much more rare, in part, due to the simple fact that they have less breast tissue.

Signs and symptoms of breast cancer may include:

• A breast lump or thickening that feels different from the surrounding tissue
• Change in the size, shape or appearance of a breast
• Changes to the skin over the breast, such as dimpling
• A newly inverted nipple
• Peeling, scaling, crusting or flaking of the pigmented area of skin surrounding the nipple (areola) or breast skin
• Redness or pitting of the skin over your breast, like the skin of an orange

It's important to keep an eye out for these symptoms while remembering that having one or many of them does not necessarily mean you have breast cancer. Regardless, you should always speak with a doctor promptly if anything ever feels off or you're experiencing one or more of the signs listed above. You never know when speaking up about your health can lead to a very important diagnosis.

When Should I Get a Mammogram?

Screening for breast cancer is typically done via mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) says women should begin yearly mammogram screening for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer. The ACS also says those aged 40-44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year, and women age 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year, or they can choose to continue yearly mammograms.

It's also important to be on top of self breast exams. If you ever feel a lump in your breast, you should be vigilant and speak with your doctor right away. Voicing your concerns as soon as you have them can lead to earlier cancer detection which, in turn, can lead to better outcomes.

There are many treatment options for people with this disease, but treatment depends greatly on the specifics of each case. Identifying these specifics means looking into whether the cancerous cells have certain receptors. These receptors  the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and the HER2 receptor  can help identify the unique features of the cancer and help personalize treatment.

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"These receptors, I like to imagine them like little hands on the outside of the cell, they can grab hold of what we call ligands, and these ligands are essentially the hormones that may be circulating in the bloodstream that can then be pulled into this cancer cell and used as a fertilizer, as growth support for the cells," Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a medical advisor to SurvivorNet, previously told SurvivorNet.

The Unique Features of Breast Cancer: Deciding the Right Course of Treatment

One example of a type of ligand that can stimulate a cancer cell is the hormone estrogen, hence why an estrogen receptor positive breast cancer will grow when stimulated by estrogen. For these cases, your doctor may offer treatment that specifically targets the estrogen receptor. But for HER2 positive breast cancers, therapies that uniquely target the HER2 receptor may be the most beneficial.

Fertility and Cancer Treatment

Edie Falco was healthy enough after her treatment to have children via in vitro fertilization, but the Avatar star decided to have children through adoption. And though infertility can be a side effect of some cancer treatments, it’s important to know there are options to consider.

Fertility preservation, for example, is available to women of childbearing age. Options for women include:

• Egg and embryo freezing (the most common practice)
• Ovarian tissue freezing
• Ovarian suppression to prevent the eggs from maturing so that they cannot be damaged during treatment.
• Ovarian transposition, for women getting radiation to the pelvis, to move the ovaries out of the line of treatment

How Does Chemotherapy Affect Fertility?

No matter what course of action you choose to take, it is crucial that all women feel comfortable discussing their options prior to cancer treatment.

In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, Dr. Jaime Knopman said time was precious when dealing with fertility preservation for women with cancer. In other words, the sooner the better when it comes to having these important fertility conversations with your doctor.

"The sooner we start, the sooner that patient can then go on and do their treatment," Dr. Knopman said. "A lot of the success comes down to how old you are at the time you froze and the quality of the lab in which your eggs or embryos are frozen in."

Can I Have A Baby After Breast Cancer?

When it comes to breast cancer patients specifically, there are some unique challenges for women with the disease. Dr. Elizabeth Comen outlined them for us in a previous interview:

• Young women who need chemotherapy could have their fertility significantly affected because many chemotherapy drugs can damage a woman's eggs.
• If women are on a medication to stop the hormones which feed their specific kind of breast cancer, they may not be able to get pregnant for several years in some instances 10 years.
• Many stage four breast cancers need estrogen to grow. Pregnancy is a very, very high hormonal state, so it's not recommended in these cases.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.