On October 8, 2024, The Office actor Jenna Fischer shared via an Instagram post that she was diagnosed with stage 1 triple-breast cancer back in December 2023. On October 21, 2024, she opened up about her cancer journey during a conversation with Today.
Fischer mentioned that since her kids lived with her, they would inevitably notice what was happening.
Hence, her priority was to keep them informed about her treatments, making sure they understood that the changes they saw were due to chemotherapy and radiation, not the cancer itself. She said,
“It was crazy because I went in for my routine mammogram, just that annoying appointment that I have been putting off. Three weeks later they said there were few spots that were difficult to see, you have very dense tissue. We would recommend that you do another mammogram and maybe follow up with a breast ultrasound.”
As per her Instagram post, Jenna Fischer shared that she had completed 12 rounds of chemotherapy, starting in February 2024, followed by three weeks of radiation in June 2024. She is expected to remain on medication until February 2025.
Triple-positive breast cancer is a type of cancer driven by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, as well as the HER2 protein.
It is classified as triple-positive when the cancer cells have receptors for estrogen (estrogen receptor-positive), receptors for progesterone (progesterone receptor-positive), and an overabundance of HER2 proteins that function as receptors (HER2-positive).
The actress also shared how the treatments impacted her energy levels, emphasizing that she wanted others undergoing similar treatment to understand that there were challenging moments as well.
Jenna Fischer said her husband was ‘incredible’ during her cancer journey
Jenna Fischer reflected on her husband Lee Kirk’s unwavering support during her breast cancer treatments, recalling how their typical mornings, which used to involve both of them making school lunches and handling drop-offs, had changed.
While she could only sit at the table with a cup of coffee, Lee cared for everything else.
One of Jenna Fischer's first thoughts after being diagnosed was about the fate of her hair. She didn’t experience nausea, but she did lose her hair.
She spent a lot of time researching hair loss and wondering what it would look like when it happened. Interestingly, her hair didn’t fall out evenly, but rather in patches.
It began with a bald spot on one side of her head, leading her to attempt a creative comb-over to conceal it. She said,
“I mean, when they told me I had to have chemo, the first thing I thought was, I don’t want to throw up, and I don’t want to lose my hair.”
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Unlike others who might choose to shave their heads, Jenna Fischer never had that moment. She debated cutting or shaving it but never did. Throughout the process, she always had small patches of hair, especially in the back, which helped her maintain the illusion of having more hair than she did.
Comparing her look to Friar Tuck, she noted that those bits of hair gave her some cover despite losing most of it on top.
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