Love During Breast Cancer Journey
- Beloved actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress and singer Rita Wilson, 66, have been through a lot throughout their 35-year marriage including Wilson’s battle with breast cancer.
- After Wilson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, it was some incredibly sweet gestures from Hanks that Wilson said helped her get through the difficult journey.
- Hanks made sure to watch movies, like “great documentaries,” with Wilson and eat “good food.” “We did our best to maintain our spirit and be thankful," she said.
- Wilson had invasive lobular carcinoma, the second-most common type of breast cancer, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
- A mammogram is the primary test doctors use to screen for breast cancer, and Wilson said she kept up with her yearly screenings, which helped catch the cancer early.
Beloved actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress and singer Rita Wilson, 66, have been through a lot throughout their 35-year marriage including Wilson’s battle with breast cancer. And it was some incredibly sweet gestures from Hanks that Wilson said helped her get through the difficult journey.
The two recently shared a beautiful photo showing Wilson palming her cheek with a deep smile while leaning into her husband. Hanks, gazing at his charming wife, presents her with a beautiful white iced cake decorated with flowery-shaped twirls and “Happy Anniversary” written in chocolate icing.
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Both Hollywood stars have accomplished a lot in their careers, but their marriage to each other is likely among their greatest hits. They have become inspirations for lasting love through good times and bad.
During Wilson's breast cancer battle, Hanks was by her side every step of the way to help make the experience better.
"I was so amazed, so blown away by the care my husband gave me. It was such a normal, intimate time," Wilson told Entertainment Tonight during an interview.
Among the most important things Hanks did during his wife's cancer battle was, well, simply being there for his wife. She said the two maintained a sense of normalcy, which helped her during cancer treatments.
Hanks made sure to watch movies, like “great documentaries,” with Wilson through her treatment and recovery. Plus, “we ate good food and we did our best to maintain our spirit and be thankful," she explained to the online women's magazine Stylist.
She admitted to the U.K. news outlet The Mirror that her breast cancer journey brought them "closer" together.
"I feel blessed to have a loving, supportive husband, family, friends, and doctors and that I'm the beneficiary of advances in the field of breast cancer and reconstruction," Wilson told the news outlet The Daily Express.
It is important for cancer warriors during their fight to have a strong support system. Having a partner, friend, or family member by your side to help care for and support you through a health struggle can be advantageous, according to SurvivorNet experts.
It helps them alleviate anxiety and depression as cancer treatments become more intense over time, says Dr. Shelly Tworoger, a researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center.
"There's a number of common things cancer patients can experience, such as anxiety, depression, financial toxicity, social isolation," Dr. Tworoger added.
Hanks hailed his wife as a brave and beautiful woman amid her breast cancer battle.
"She took on not only the crisis [her cancer diagnosis], but also the issues of women's cancers in a way that I thought was extremely brave and beautiful," Hanks told Extra TV as reported by the entertainment news outlet, Hola.
After her diagnosis, Wilson has been a vocal advocate for breast cancer awareness.
Wilson's Breast Cancer Journey
Wilson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. The actress and singer's specific diagnosis was invasive lobular carcinoma, a type of cancer named for its point of origin: the lobules.
Invasive lobular carcinoma begins in the milk-producing glands, called lobules, of the breast, and may spread to other areas of the body.
Invasive lobular carcinoma is the second-most common type of breast cancer, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, but it still only represents a small portion of breast cancers. The most common type of breast cancer starts in the breast ducts.
Treatment options for breast cancer include surgery (via a mastectomy or lumpectomy), chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Wilson underwent a double mastectomy, in which both breasts are removed, to get rid of cancer.
"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.
"The real length, the total length of the surgery, can often depend on what type of reconstruction [a patient] has."
She also underwent breast reconstructive surgery.
WATCH: What Happens During a Double Mastectomy?
"Breast reconstruction is a restoration of a woman's form and her sense of self," says Dr. Andrea Pusic, Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
There are many different options and techniques available for reconstruction from implants to using a woman's tissue and choices about when to get the reconstruction meaning immediate (at the time of mastectomy) or delayed (which could be months, or even years later).
All these different techniques are "getting close to that goal of letting a woman be herself again" and putting the cancer behind her, says Dr. Pusic
After undergoing treatment, Wilson said she was "cancer free" in a Twitter post.
The Basics of Breast Cancer
Behind skin cancers, breast cancer is the second-most common cancer in American women, according to the CDC.
Two of the top risk factors for breast cancer are being a woman and getting older, with most breast cancer patients being diagnosed in women older than 50.
Women who got their periods before they turned 12 years old or started menopause after 55 years old are at increased risk. Other factors include a family history of breast cancer and genetic mutations to genes like BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are inherited.
More breast cancer warriors
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Breast Cancer Symptoms
Breast cancer symptoms can present themselves in the following ways:
- A new breast lump
- New swelling in one breast
- Changes in the nipple (such as puckering)
- Redness or flaking in the breast or nipple
- Discharge (including blood) from the nipple
- Pain in the breast
If you find yourself experiencing any of these symptoms or are concerned about changes to your body, you should bring them up with your doctor.
One way to help detect breast cancer signs is by doing regular breast self-exams. A self-exam includes pressing your fingertips along your breast in a circular motion.
"For some women that means going to their doctor and walking through what a self-breast exam looks like, so they know what normal breast tissue feels like so if they do feel something abnormal whether it's a lump or discharge from the nipple they know what to ask and what to look for," SurvivorNet medical advisor Dr. Elizabeth Comen said.
A mammogram is the primary test doctors use to screen for breast cancer. According to SurvivorNet experts, getting mammograms regularly at the recommended intervals can help spot early signs of anything that may be potentially harmful.
This way, you and your doctor can address them right away.
Wilson kept up with yearly mammograms and screenings, and credits this for catching the cancer early and having treatment that was successful.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.