Even for people who havent been diagnosed with it,breast canceroften feels personal.
Not to mention that we also see breast cancers impact mirrored in pop culture time and time again.
Chances are, a star from one of these shows has had breast cancer.
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She memorably posted photos of heremotional head-shaving processwhile undergoing chemotherapy.
She found this out after experiencing sharp back pain and getting scans.
Im not signing off, she toldElleat the time.
I feel like Im a very, very healthy human being.
The fear was overwhelming to me, she wrote on Instagram in June when recalling the procedures.
Scared of all possible bad outcomes, worries about leaving my mom and how that would impact her.
Worried that I would come out of surgery not me anymore.
This is what cancer can look like.
This process is definitely intense and what I ask of you is empowerment not pity.
Since then, shes continued rocking the bare look at events, while sometimes wearing wigs as well.
In September, she finished her last chemo round and moved on to 20 rounds of radiation.
AtBravoCon 2023, she confirmedand celebratedthat shes now cancer-free.
For those who do not get health checks regularly, I urge you to.
Your life depends on it.
I always sort of thought, Im probably going to get breast cancer.
Theres a really good chance.
NixontoldNightline’s Cynthia McFadden.
Thats the thing that could have a really bad endgame, Nixon said.
In fact, they have a40-percent higher riskof dying from breast cancer than any other racial or ethnic group.
Blige hopes to get the community talking about this health risk more.
My body started talking so I started listening, she toldEssencein 2021.
I found out about it at the GYN.
They dont discuss this when were children.
They dont say, Go get a mammogram.
You learn about this as you get older.
Thats why its extremely important to me.
To spread the word, Blige has teamed up withJill Bidenand theBlack Womens Health Imperative.
Black women are often very private, she toldCBS This Morning.
We don’t want people knowing our business.
Will I need a mastectomy?
Will I need chemo?
What will the next weeks, months, even years look like?
Couric opted for breast conservation surgery, which involved a lumpectomy paired with radiation and medication.
She got through treatment and is now cancer-free.
yo get your annual mammogram, Couric wrote.
I was six months late this time.
I shudder to think what might have happened if I had put it off longer.
Life comes with many challenges.
Jolies mom, Marcheline Bertrand, passed away at age 56 after fighting ovarian cancer for a decade.
Its not a story Rudolph has often told.
I dont remember if I ever did proper grieving.
That included a wildly fearless new attitude that she sayshelped her land her current job.
Its part of me, but not all of me.
Today, Im the one.
She fought the disease for five years before passing away at age 32.
TheGlamourWoman of the Yearalso happens to be a breast cancer survivor.
Im part of this Sisterhood of the Traveling Breast Cells (apologies toAnn Brashares).
Medical diagnoses can leave you feeling alone and scared.
But she was also exceptionally in tune with her body.
There was something internally tugging at me, telling me, No.
Pay attention to me,she said.
Her decision to continue to train for Tokyo through her treatment proved extremely empowering.
We have to force change to happen.
Have a mammogram, MRI, every three months just to see what its doing.
But Im not good at keeping on top of stuff.
Im sure Im overdue for an oil change and a teeth cleaning already.
Do you want to wait and not be as fortunate when it comes back and its too late?
My activism came out, she toldPeople.
Since her initial diagnosis, shes been focused on innovating ways to help women afford genetic testing and MRIs.
In 2021, she revealed that she faces another health challenge:She has multiple sclerosis.
They said, No, were booked solid.
And Im thinking to myself, Wow, this really happens, she toldPrevention.
I reached out to Diane [Sawyer] and [ABC colleague] Deborah Roberts.
Deborah gave me a referral.
Im very blessedI have good health care, a great job.
But my mother kept saying, Youre not the norm.
So be the voice for those people who dont have it as good as you do.
When her biopsy came back in June 2021, McKeon found out she had stage III breast cancer.
She was just 19.
I didn’t think anything could be wrong because of my age, she said.
Her age means she has a chance at better outcomes, McKeon toldPeople, and she is staying positive.
I’m making it my job to find the beauty in all of this, she says.
But I’m making it my job to try and pull something out of this.
She recently sharedan Instagram videoduring Breast Cancer Awareness Month where she gave herself an injection of a post-cancer drug.
I feel so grateful to have this platform, she wrote.
Its the scariest thing Ive ever done and one of the best decisions Ive ever made.
And that mammogram, Rancictold E!, showed that she had breast cancer.
She eventually opted for a double mastectomy, which wasn’t easy, she said.
Her advice to women now?
But keeping that appointment, Crow said, saved her life.
And now, she hopes that other women won’t delay in getting the check-ups they need.
