Stars Who Have Been Diagnosed With Breast Cancer

These stars have been through so much.

Statistics suggest roughly one in eight women will develop breast cancer in the course of her lifetime, with more than 250,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer expected to be diagnosed in 2019 alone. Male lifetime risk for breast cancer is around 1 in 1,000.

The disease has impacted people from all walks of life in the United States, and around the world. Celebrities are not immune.

Take Christina Applegate, for example. Her mother had previously survived breast cancer, so the actress was particularly diligent about yearly mammograms from an early age. Eventually, a MRI showed the disease in her left breast, and further testing proved Applegate carried the BRCA gene, putting her at a high risk for suffering further cancerous lumps in her future. She chose to have a double mastectomy to beat it — and she’s been healthy ever since.

Wanda Sykes has also been diagnosed with breast cancer, after an elective breast reduction surgery in 2011 revealed cancer in her milk ducts. Thankfully, it was caught before spreading, but knowing her family — the disease apparently had a history on her mother’s side — the comedian opted for surgery to remove both breasts.

Singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow also has suffered a breast cancer scare. Even in spite of her notoriously healthy lifestyle, a 2006 mammogram raised “red flags” for her doctors, and Crow eventually had a biopsy to check samples of her breast tissue. The tests eventually showed cancerous tissue, leading to a lumpectomy and seven weeks of radiation therapy. Thankfully, Crow is healthy now — but it was a real scare at the time, as you’d expect.

As you can see even just from those three stories, breast cancer has touched so many lives in so many ways. Celebs have become some of the most powerful voices in the public sphere campaigning for consistent testing and regular exams, as well as better treatment protocol and more options for those suffering the disease.

And as you can see (below), plenty of celebs have themselves gone through cancer, too.

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