“There’s A Part of Me That’s Still a Little Frightened” — “Veep” Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus is Cancer-Free, But Like so Many Breast Cancer Survivors, She Fears The Possibility of Recurrence
The Emmy-winning actress knows that being "cancer-free" doesn't necessarily mean she's in the clear -- and learning to live with that has been a challenge.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 58, has received her seventh Emmy nomination for her performance playing Selina Meyer on “Veep”—and if she wins it, she’ll break a record for the most Emmy Awards for a single role.
What makes this Emmy nomination so inspiring—apart from the former “Seinfeld” star’s potential to make Emmy history—is that it would recognize her performance in the seventh and final season of “Veep,” which she filmed directly after a challenging breast cancer journey.
Louis-Dreyfus was diagnosed with breast cancer in the fall of 2017. (Ironically, she received the diagnosis the day after winning one of her previous Emmys). As she told the New York Times last month, the idea of going back to work filming “Veep” kept her motivated throughout her six rounds of chemotherapy and her double mastectomy.
Louis-Dreyfus received her breast cancer diagnosis the morning after she won an Emmy for “Outstanding Lead Actress” in the HBO series, “Veep.”
“It’s been really hard work, but it’s been incredibly buoying,” Louis-Dreyfus said of going back to “Veep.” “It was something that I really kept my sights on when I was going through my cancer romp.”
To many women, making it through a breast cancer diagnosis and a full course of treatment is an award-worthy feat in and of itself. The fact that Louis-Dreyfus is being recognized with one of the highest honors for her acting career is remarkable and inspiring. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why the actress was featured as the cover star of Vanity Fair magazine’s special awards season issue, titled “Hail to the Veep!”
On the cover, Louis Dreyfus looks fierce and confident as she steps out of a sleek black car wearing an elegant feather gown.
Louis-Dreyfus began playing Selina Meyer in the satirical comedy “Veep” in 2012. (Image source: Sioux City Journal).
But as she shared in the feature interview with Vanity Fair, Louis-Dreyfus is still dealing with the challenges of breast cancer—including the fear of recurrence.
“I’m glad I got through it,” she said. “But there’s a part of me that’s still a little frightened, you know?”
In her feature interview with Vanity Fair, Louis-Dreyfus admitted that there’s still a part of her that’s frightened; she knows there’s the possibility that her breast cancer could return. (Image source: Vanity Fair).
Louis-Dreyfus’ lingering fear of recurrence—which refers to a cancer that comes back after someone is declared “cancer-free”—is something that many breast cancer survivors (and survivors of all types of cancer) live with each day. Even after a doctor says the welcome words, “no evidence of disease,” survivors are reminded that there’s always the possibility that the cancer cells will come back.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor CC Webster, for instance, told SurvivorNet, “In life after cancer, I experienced an entirely new level of anxiety that I didn’t know existed.”
But Webster also offered a valuable piece of advice for dealing with fear after a cancer journey: “If you’re brave enough to look fear, or worry, or anxiety in the face, it goes away.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the featured cover star in Vanity Fair’s special Emmy Awards edition. (Image source: Vanity Fair).
That can be hard to do, but as Julie Louis-Dreyfus’ example makes clear, focusing on your passions and the things that bring you joy can make it easier—and a few laughs can help, too.
For Louis-Dreyfus, that’s meant, in her words, “putting blinders on and just focusing on making the funniest f**king show possible.”
Tony Hale and Julia Louis-Dreyfus co-starred in “Veep” together for seven seasons. (Image source: New York Post).
Louis-Dreyfus’ co-star on “Veep,” Tony Hale (who plays Gary Walsh, the personal assistant to Selina Meyer) told Vanity Fair that for Louis-Dreyfus, being back on the “Veep” set was kind of like an “elixir.”
“So much of her mental energy had gone into fighting cancer, and now it could be redirected,” Hale said. “What a gift that was.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 58, has received her seventh Emmy nomination for her performance playing Selina Meyer on “Veep”—and if she wins it, she’ll break a record for the most Emmy Awards for a single role.
What makes this Emmy nomination so inspiring—apart from the former “Seinfeld” star’s potential to make Emmy history—is that it would recognize her performance in the seventh and final season of “Veep,” which she filmed directly after a challenging breast cancer journey.
Louis-Dreyfus was diagnosed with breast cancer in the fall of 2017. (Ironically, she received the diagnosis the day after winning one of her previous Emmys). As she told the New York Times last month, the idea of going back to work filming “Veep” kept her motivated throughout her six rounds of chemotherapy and her double mastectomy.
Louis-Dreyfus received her breast cancer diagnosis the morning after she won an Emmy for “Outstanding Lead Actress” in the HBO series, “Veep.”
“It’s been really hard work, but it’s been incredibly buoying,” Louis-Dreyfus said of going back to “Veep.” “It was something that I really kept my sights on when I was going through my cancer romp.”
To many women, making it through a breast cancer diagnosis and a full course of treatment is an award-worthy feat in and of itself. The fact that Louis-Dreyfus is being recognized with one of the highest honors for her acting career is remarkable and inspiring. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why the actress was featured as the cover star of Vanity Fair magazine’s special awards season issue, titled “Hail to the Veep!”
On the cover, Louis Dreyfus looks fierce and confident as she steps out of a sleek black car wearing an elegant feather gown.
Louis-Dreyfus began playing Selina Meyer in the satirical comedy “Veep” in 2012. (Image source: Sioux City Journal).
But as she shared in the feature interview with Vanity Fair, Louis-Dreyfus is still dealing with the challenges of breast cancer—including the fear of recurrence.
“I’m glad I got through it,” she said. “But there’s a part of me that’s still a little frightened, you know?”
In her feature interview with Vanity Fair, Louis-Dreyfus admitted that there’s still a part of her that’s frightened; she knows there’s the possibility that her breast cancer could return. (Image source: Vanity Fair).
Louis-Dreyfus’ lingering fear of recurrence—which refers to a cancer that comes back after someone is declared “cancer-free”—is something that many breast cancer survivors (and survivors of all types of cancer) live with each day. Even after a doctor says the welcome words, “no evidence of disease,” survivors are reminded that there’s always the possibility that the cancer cells will come back.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor CC Webster, for instance, told SurvivorNet, “In life after cancer, I experienced an entirely new level of anxiety that I didn’t know existed.”
But Webster also offered a valuable piece of advice for dealing with fear after a cancer journey: “If you’re brave enough to look fear, or worry, or anxiety in the face, it goes away.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the featured cover star in Vanity Fair’s special Emmy Awards edition. (Image source: Vanity Fair).
That can be hard to do, but as Julie Louis-Dreyfus’ example makes clear, focusing on your passions and the things that bring you joy can make it easier—and a few laughs can help, too.
For Louis-Dreyfus, that’s meant, in her words, “putting blinders on and just focusing on making the funniest f**king show possible.”
Tony Hale and Julia Louis-Dreyfus co-starred in “Veep” together for seven seasons. (Image source: New York Post).
Louis-Dreyfus’ co-star on “Veep,” Tony Hale (who plays Gary Walsh, the personal assistant to Selina Meyer) told Vanity Fair that for Louis-Dreyfus, being back on the “Veep” set was kind of like an “elixir.”
“So much of her mental energy had gone into fighting cancer, and now it could be redirected,” Hale said. “What a gift that was.”
