Jane Fonda took to Instagram this afternoon to share an unfortunate health update with her almost two-million adoring followers. “I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments,” she shares. “This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.”
Fonda says she is also “privileged” because she has health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. “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,” she pens. “We also need to be talking much more not just about cures but about causes so we can eliminate them.”
The Fire Drill Friday host says she is “doing chemo for 6 months” and is “handling the treatments quite well. Believe me, I will not let any of this interfere with my climate activism,” she says.
“Cancer is a teacher and I’m paying attention to the lessons it holds for me,” she concludes gracefully. “One thing it’s shown me already is the importance of community. Of growing and deepening one’s community so that we are not alone. And the cancer, along with my age—almost 85—definitely teaches the importance of adapting to new realities.”
Read her full post here.
