Grace and Frankie star Jane Fonda announces she has cancer
(Picture: REUTERS)Grace and Frankie actress Jane Fonda has revealed she is receiving chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
The 84-year-old American film icon shared her journey with cancer on her Instagram account on Friday.
Fonda said she will be in chemo for six months and is so far “handling the treatments quite well”.
She assured fans that non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is “a very treatable cancer” and she will not be letting it “interfere” with her climate activism. She said 80 per cent of patients survive, and she feels “very lucky”.
She also used the opportunity to point out the disparities in the American health system.
“I’m also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. I realise, and it’s painful, that I am privileged in this. 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.
“We also need to be talking much more not just about cures but about causes so we can eliminate them. For example, people need to know that fossil fuels cause cancer. So do pesticides, many of which are fossil fuel-based, like mine.
“Cancer is a teacher and I’m paying attention to the lessons it holds for me. 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.”
She vowed to “not allow cancer to keep me from doing all I can” and said she will continue to build the ‘Fire Drill Fridays’ community.
“The midterms are looming, and they are beyond consequential so you can count on me to be right there together with you as we grow our army of climate champions,” she encouraged followers.
Fonda has worked in film and television for more than six decades, winning Oscars for roles in 1971 movie Klute and 1978’s Coming Home. Her newest film, Moving On, is scheduled to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this month.
Off screen, Fonda has advocated for various causes and recently pushed for policies to curb climate change.
