For the first time ever, Jenna Fischer is opening up about her breast cancer journey. The Office star took to Instagram in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is all of October, admitting she was diagnosed with Triple Positive Breast Cancer last December. She revealed that she has completed chemotherapy and radiation and is cancer free.
"Back in October of 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 wrote. "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."
Fischer then explained that it's an aggressive form of breast cancer but is "also highly responsive to treatment." She had a lumpectomy to remove the tumor, which was caught early and had yet to spread into her lymph nodes or throughout the rest of her body. The following month, she began 12 rounds of weekly chemotherapy and started three weeks of radiation in June. Fischer admitted that while she continues to be treated with infusions of Herceptin and a daily dose of Tamoxifen, "I'm happy to say I'm feeling great."
The actress revealed she wanted to make the announcement for a few reasons, with the first being she's "ready to ditch the wigs." She also stressed how important it is to get annual mammograms and hoped that she could be a source of support to any woman going through what she is. Fischer thanked friend and The Office co-star Angela Kinsey, "who protected me and advocated for me. For a long time, she was the only person in my workplace who knew. When I lost my hair, she wore hats to our work meetings so I wouldn't be the only one. When I needed a break, we took one."
Jenna Fischer also thanked her husband, Lee, for being by her side through it all. She shared a sweet photo at the end of the slides, where she was ringing the a bell in the backyard with her husband and kids to celebrate her final round of chemo and radiation treatments, confetti included. Many famous friends took to the comments to share their support, including Olivia Munn, who has been going through a breast cancer journey herself.
"You already know how much I love you and how incredibly proud of you I am," Munn wrote. "But I just want to say it again; I love you and by sharing your story you're helping so many women and saving so many lives. You're just the best."