Jane Fonda reflects on her difficult chemotherapy journey.
After confirming in September that she had been diagnosed with non-lymphoma, the Grace and Frankie actress spoke about her cancer treatments last year. Hodgkin’s The 85-year-old actress revealed that chemotherapy “hit me hard” despite her statement last month that her cancer is in remission.
“I realized for the first time that what I was going through was normal. “Because the type of chemotherapy I was receiving at first wasn’t too unpleasant, “she noted, it got more taxing as time passed.
The actress claimed she discovered her sickness was in remission two days before turning 85, which gave her additional reason to celebrate but also offered her the opportunity to contemplate death, which she believes is essential.
“I often think about my mortality. I have for the past 30 years,” Fonda said. “I believe it is beneficial. It is difficult to live properly if one does not contemplate mortality. It’s a part of life.”
“Other cultures aren’t as afraid of thinking about death as we are,” she stated.
“I think about it a lot, which has considerably improved my life. A cancer diagnosis makes you feel about it even more, and you want to ensure you complete your goals so you don’t look back on your life with regret.”
Fonda posted a photo of herself at a climate protest in Washington, D.C., along with a statement on Instagram declaring that her cancer was in remission.
“Last week, I was notified by my physician that my cancer is in remission, and I may discontinue chemo,” she said in December. “Right now, I feel extremely fortunate and blessed. I want to thank everyone who prayed for me and thought about me. In my perspective, it surely contributed to the wonderful news.”
The Oscar winner revealed that some of her treatments were “difficult.” Still, she recovered to travel to Washington, D.C., to do “some lobbying” and speak about climate change at the Democracy Alliance.
“I’m especially happy because my last chemo session was painful and lasted two weeks, making it impossible to do much,” Fonda remarked. “My first four chemo sessions were rather simple for me; just a few days of exhaustion.”
She claimed the effects “wore off” when she arrived in Washington, D.C., for the first in-person Fire Drill Fridays rally. She organizes a demonstration called Fire Drill Fridays to raise awareness about climate change every week.
Fonda made her situation public for the first time in September.
“So, my dear friends, I’d want to share something personal with you. “My non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis and chemotherapy treatments have started,” she began sharing on Instagram. “This cancer is incredibly treatable. I consider myself extremely fortunate because 80% of individuals survive.”
She used her condition as a rallying cry for action during what she called “the most critical time in human history” while admitting she is “privileged” to afford high-quality healthcare while many others cannot.
“I won’t let cancer stop me from doing everything I can,” the actress wrote.
“I’m using every tool in my toolbox, and a large part of that is expanding the Fire Drill Fridays group and brainstorming new methods to use our collective power to influence change.”
Fonda wrote on her blog three weeks after making her illness public, about three weeks after starting her first round of chemotherapy, that she had been “deeply affected and heartened by all the feelings of love and support.”
“I want to underline that this is a very treatable malignancy and that significant progress has been gained with the medicines patients are given,” she said.
