Jenna Fischer had a great support system during her battle with breast cancer.
On October 8, The Office alum announced that she had been diagnosed with stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer, but she followed up that announcement with some great news. She has completed chemotherapy and is now cancer-free.
Fisher participated in an emotional sit-down with Hoda Kotb on the Monday, Oct. 21, episode of Today. The 50-year-old spoke about her history with breast cancer. She discovered her diagnosis while hiking. “While hiking, I checked the portal and saw words like ‘invasive,’ ‘ductal,’ ‘carcinoma,’ and ‘malignant,'” she said. “And I thought, ‘That word sounds like the word for cancer.'” This left her in a state of “disbelief.”
Ms Fisher, who has son Weston, 13, and daughter Harper, 10, with husband Lee Kirk, recalled sharing her diagnosis for the first time.
“They are 10 and 13 years old, and they were going to live at home while I was going through this situation,” she told Kotb. “They’ll see it.” And the biggest thing I wanted them to know is that anything that looks sick during this process is a side effect of the treatment,” she said. continued. “Cancer didn’t make me sick.”
“I think that difference really put them at ease,” Fisher recalled. “And we did it together, and they were great.”
She added that it was very important that her husband remained by her and the children’s side throughout her chemotherapy treatment.
“My husband Lee was absolutely amazing,” she said. “A typical morning for us is that we both wake up, make school lunches, and take them to and from school.”
“I’m emotional right now, but,” Fischer continued through tears. “All I could do was go downstairs and sit at the table and have coffee, and he did everything else.”
The TV star, who is now officially in remission and on post-treatment medication, also opened up about her decision not to shave her head during chemotherapy.
“When I was told I had to undergo chemotherapy, my first thought was, ‘I don’t want to throw up. I don’t want to lose my hair.’ I didn’t throw up, but my hair did… It has fallen out.”
“There was never a moment where I shaved my head,” she told Kotb. “I don’t know why. I thought, ‘Oh, maybe I should cut it first.’ Should I shave? what do i do? ‘And I didn’t. ”
“I’ve always had a little hair here,” she continued. “I’ve always had a little bit of hair in the back. And because I was trying to keep it a secret, those little splatters kind of helped with the illusion of hair. I looked like Friar Tuck, There was nothing on top, just a few things.”
Fisher said she wore wigs and hats with hair to accommodate her hair loss. I joke that my family used to call them “wigat.” But she’s now ready to “ditch the wig” and embrace short hair.
On October 21, Fisher took to Instagram to thank the morning show and Kotb for giving her a platform to tell her story and offer advice to others about breast cancer awareness.
“A huge thank you to @hodakotb and @todayshow for letting me talk about my battle with breast cancer,” Fisher captioned the post. “I hope that hearing my story brings comfort to women who are also on this journey. I still go through this every day. But the good days outweigh the bad. It was very helpful for me to be able to use my experience.”
The star’s advice to fans was straightforward. “Remind me to get a mammogram and any additional tests recommended by your doctor,” she wrote. “Ninety-nine percent of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer early survive. Early detection is the reason my treatment was so successful.”
The star first shared news of her diagnosis in an Oct. 8 Instagram post commemorating Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She detailed her battle in a four-slide post. She underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy starting in February and three weeks of radiation therapy starting in June. She has since been treated with two other drugs through an intravenous drip and is expected to continue taking them until February 2025.
But the good news is that doctors told Fisher there was no longer any evidence of cancer. She celebrated the milestone with a photo that ended the post with her husband and two children ringing the cancer bell in their backyard.
Today, weekdays, 7 a.m. / 7 a.m., NBC
