Jenna Fischer, who stars as the beloved Pam in “The Office,” has taken to Instagram to share a very personal update for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“I never thought I’d be making an announcement like this but here we are,” she writes. “Last December, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Triple Positive Breast Cancer. After completing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation I am now cancer free.”
The actress and mom goes on to detail her experience getting diagnosed and receiving treatment, as well as all of the support she found along the way.
Her journey actually started nearly a year ago, when she posted a photo on Instagram preparing for her routine mammogram, quoting her TV boss Michael Scott and jokingly reminding her audience to “take care of your ticking time bags.”
But inconclusive results made her appointment a lot less comedic. After some more tests, she received the news.
“Triple positive breast cancer is an aggressive form of breast cancer, but it is also highly responsive to treatment,” Fischer explained. “Luckily, my cancer was caught early and it hadn’t spread into my lymph nodes or throughout the rest of my body.”
Along with a lumpectomy, she underwent both chemotherapy and radiation, and in her post, said she is finally going public, since she is “ready to ditch the wigs,” after losing her hair.
Now officially cancer-free, her energy is spent sharing a message to her many female followers: Schedule the mammogram.
“You can also ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score and get any additional screenings required,” she said. “I’m serious, call your doctor right now.”
She added that her tumor was so small that it would not have been felt in a physical exam.
“If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse,” Fischer added. “It could have spread.”
She also said that seeing other women share about their mammograms on social media was initially what reminded her to make her annual appointment.
“Consider this your kick in the butt to get it done,” she wrote.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, this year, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. But, when caught in its earliest, localized stages, the five-year relative survival rate is 99%.
Fischer has lived out these statistics, and because of innovations in medicine, and the unwavering support of her loved ones, she is now on the other side.
After a heartfelt note of thanks to her family and friends, Fischer made one final plea on Instagram.
“Take it from Pam and her Pam Pams,” she said, once again quoting Michael Scott.
“Get ‘em checked, ladies. And know that should you get a breast cancer diagnosis, there is a village waiting to care for you.”
Header image courtesy of Jenna Fischer/Instagram
