Jane Fonda announced on Instagram that she has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and has begun chemotherapy.
“This is a very curable cancer,” Fonda wrote in the post. “80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky. I am also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. I realize, and it is painful, that I am privileged in this. “Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at some point and too many don’t have access to the quality health care I get and that’s not right.”
Fonda said she “will be doing chemotherapy for 6 months,” adding: “I’ve handled the treatments pretty well and, believe me, I’m not going to let any of that affect my climate activism.”
“Cancer is a teacher and I pay attention to the lessons it teaches me,” Fonda added. “One thing it has already shown me is the importance of community. The growth and deepening of one’s community so that we are not alone. And cancer, along with my age – almost 85 – certainly teaches the importance of adapting to new realities.”
Fonda will turn 85 in December. A two-time Academy Award winner, the actress has kept her career thriving in recent years with her recently concluded Netflix series Grace and Frankie and her ongoing activism in politics and climate change. Fonda vowed not to let cancer interfere with her activism work.
“We live in the most important time in human history because what we do or don’t do right now will determine what kind of future there is, and I will not allow cancer to stop me from doing everything I can, using every tool in my toolbox, and that largely includes continuing to build that Fire Drill Fridays community and finding new ways to use our collective power to make change,” he added.
Fonda’s post concluded: “The midterms are coming up and they’re beyond consistent, so you can count on me to be right there with you as we grow our army of climate champions.”
Read Fonda’s entire post below.
