Jenna Fischer has opened up about the moment she shared her breast cancer diagnosis with friends, recalling that Anchorman star Christina Applegate had a “salty” response.
The 50-year-old, who played Pam Beesly on the much-loved NBC sitcom The Office, said publicly earlier this month that she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
During an appearance on Today, Fischer said she was diagnosed last October and first spoke to her husband, Lee Kirk, about the news.
One of the first friends she told was Applegate. Fischer explained: “I called her, and she answered the phone, and she said, ‘Which one is it?’ And I said, ‘It’s breast cancer.’ And she said, ‘I effing knew it.’
“She’s salty. Salty language that one. I love her for it.”
Fischer told fans on social media that she is now cancer free after receiving treatment.
“I never thought I’d be making an announcement like this but here we are. Last December, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Triple Positive Breast Cancer. After completing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation I am now cancer free,” she wrote in the caption of an Instagram post.
“Back in October 2023, I posted a photo of myself on Instagram preparing for my routine mammogram with a joking reminder to ‘take care of your ticking time bags’ a la Michael Scott,” Fischer shared, referencing Steve Carrell’s Office character.
“After inconclusive results on that mammogram due to dense breast tissue my doctor ordered a breast ultrasound. They found something in my left breast. A biopsy was ordered. Then, on December 1, 2023, I learned I had stage 1 triple positive breast cancer.”
“Triple positive breast cancer is an aggressive form of breast cancer but it is also highly responsive to treatment,” Fischer added.
The Office Ladies podcast host revealed she “had a lumpectomy to remove the tumor” in January of this year and the “cancer was caught early and it hadn’t spread into my lymph nodes or throughout the rest of my body.”
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“I’m happy to say I’m feeling great,” she continued. “I lost my hair during chemotherapy but thanks to some great wigs and hats with hair (which my family affectionately called Wigats) I have been able to wait until now to reveal all that has been going on for me.
“I’m making this announcement for a few reasons,” Fisher explained. “One, I’m ready to ditch the wigs. Two, to implore you to get your annual mammograms. You can also ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score and get any additional screenings required. I’m serious, call your doctors right now.
“If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse,” she said. “It could have spread. Seeing women post photos of their mammogram appointments on Instagram needled me into setting my own (which I was late for). I’m so glad I did. Consider this your kick in the butt to get it done…. Suddenly everything in your life is geared around one thing: fighting cancer.”