Jenna Fischer has opened up about her cancer diagnosis and recent progress.
In an Instagram post earlier this month, The Office alum revealed that he was secretly undergoing treatment for cancer.
“I never thought I’d be making an announcement like this, but here it is,” she wrote in the caption of the lengthy post. The post began with a photo of herself and ended with a “phone ring” celebrating her 50th birthday. Bell” with my family. (Cancer patients usually ring a bell when their treatment is complete.)
A few weeks later, on October 21, Jenna opened up to Today about her path to diagnosis, including how her first mammogram led to a series of other tests.
Here’s what Jenna shared about her diagnosis and how she’s doing now.
What kind of cancer does Jenna Fischer have?
Jenna was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her path to diagnosis began after she went in for a mammogram in October 2023, something she had been putting off.
“Three weeks later, they said, ‘Oh, your mammogram was fine.’ There were some spots that were hard to see. You have very dense tissue. They did another mammogram and, in some cases, I recommend following up with a breast ultrasound,” she told Today. “I thought, ‘This is a never-ending promise.'”
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Fisher said she had “nothing to worry about” when she underwent a breast ultrasound. But then she was asked to undergo a biopsy. During the biopsy, doctors found something and she was told there was a “10 percent chance” it was cancerous.
Ultimately, Fisher received her results on a patient portal while hiking alone. “While hiking, I checked the portal and saw words like ‘invasion,’ ‘ductal,’ ‘cancer,’ and ‘malignant,'” she said. “And I thought, ‘That word sounds like the word for cancer.'”
Doctors later confirmed her diagnosis, but Fisher said she “couldn’t believe it.”
When did Jenna Fischer get cancer? What stage was it at?
Jenna had stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer. She was officially diagnosed on December 1, 2023.
According to MD Anderson Cancer Center, triple-positive breast cancer occurs when breast cancer cells utilize estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and HER2 proteins to grow. This is a subtype of HER2-positive breast cancer that accounts for approximately 10 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses.
Did Jenna Fischer lose her hair?
Yes, Jenna lost her hair during cancer treatment.
“When I was told I had to undergo chemotherapy, the first thing I thought was, ‘I don’t want to throw up, I don’t want to lose my hair,'” she told Today. “I didn’t throw up, but my hair fell out.”
“That’s what all of us women talk about. How much we Google hair and hair pictures and think, ‘What would that look like?’ The funny thing is, I don’t lose evenly,” she said. “It starts with a fit. So I started with what looks like a big bald spot on this side of my head, and I want a really elaborate comb-over.”
Some cancer patients shave their hair, but Jenna didn’t. “I’ve never had that moment of shaving my head,” she said. “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 said. “I’ve always had a little bit of hair in the back, and since I was trying to stay hidden, those little splatters were helping with the illusion of hair. I was kind of like a tuck monk. I saw it. There was nothing up there.” Then, just do something here. ”
She also stated that she was wearing a hair wig and hat. Now, she has a shorter pixie cut, which she shows off in an Instagram post.
“To accompany this news, I wanted to post a photo of myself looking happy and healthy in a spotted pixie,” she wrote in the caption.
What is Jenna Fischer doing now?
Jenna said she underwent a lumpectomy to remove the tumor in January 2024, followed by 12 rounds of chemotherapy starting in February and three weeks of radiation therapy starting in June. She is also being treated with two other drugs intravenously and will continue to take them until February 2025.
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“I recently underwent re-examination and am happy to say that the treatment was successful,” she said on Instagram. “I am cancer-free and will continue to receive treatment and monitoring to help me stay that way.”
Congratulations, Jenna!
Colin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, and his work has appeared in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. It is published. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives near the beach, and hopes to one day own a teacup pig and taco truck.
