Hollywood star Jane Fonda reveals cancer diagnosis
Photo Credit: Arthur Mola/Invision/AP
American actress Jane Fonda has announced that she has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Fonda, 84, made the announcement through her Instagram account, where she stated that she has begun chemotherapy treatment.
“This is a very treatable cancer,” Fona stated in the post. “I feel very lucky.”
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In the same post, she acknowledged her privilege for having “access to the best doctors and treatments” as well as health insurance to pay for her medical expenses.
“I realize, and it’s painful, that I am privileged in this,” the two-time Oscar winning actress admitted. “Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another and far too many don’t have access to the quality health care I am receiving and this is not right.”
Young Jane Fonda
Photo Credit: Bettman Archive
She went on to write that more needs to be done to address the root causes of cancer, including fossil fuels and pesticides.
Fonda’s statement comes as no surprise, as she has employed her status as a public figure to spread awareness about climate change and other causes.
“I’m doing chemo for 6 months and am handling the treatments quite well and, believe me, I will not let any of this interfere with my climate activism,” Fonda assured in her post.
Fonda’s diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. It is a cancer of the lymphatic system, in which white blood cells cause tumors throughout the body. Common treatments for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma are chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted drug therapy, immune cell engineering, a bone marrow transplant and immunotherapy.
