Jane Fonda shared an update on her health and revealed that she feels “stronger than ever” just one week after announcing that she’s been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL).
In a recent blog post on her website, the 84-year-old actor talked about all the support she’s received since sharing her blood cancer diagnosis.
“I want to say again that this is a very treatable cancer and much progress has been made with the medicines patients are given,” Fonda wrote. “Since last week, so many people have written to me or posted that they have had this type of cancer and have been cancer-free for many decades. Well, I’ll soon be 85 so I won’t have to worry about ‘many decades.’ One will do just fine.”
The Grace and Frankie star went on to share that she started her first chemo session three weeks ago and was feeling “stronger than [she has] in years”. She also gave details about her daily exercise routine.
“The doctor told me the best antidote to the tiredness that chemotherapy can cause is to move,” she wrote. “Walk. And I have been walking. Very early before the record heat kicks in. Also working out.”
Fonda also noted that this wasn’t her first experience with cancer, adding: “I’ve had breast cancers and had a mastectomy and come through very well and I will do so again.”
She went on to add that she’s “painfully aware” of the “top-drawer treatment” that she’s receiving and how much of “a travesty” it is that other people can’t get that kind of care too.
Along with her fight for equal healthcare and hope to end the climate crisis, she also detailed how her cancer diagnosis encouraged her to “end the deadly effects of fossil fuels”. Last week, Fonda revealed that fossil fuels, specifically pesticides, was one of the causes of her cancer.
“While most of us know that fossil fuels are the primary cause of the climate crisis, many may not know that fossil fuel emissions also cause cancer as well as other major health problems,” her blog post continues.
“We must find a way to come together to put an end to this deadly correlation,” she added. “Too many families have suffered, too many communities have been forgotten, written off as ‘Sacrifice Zones,’ far too much pain has been endured. It does not have to be this way. We have it within our power to change this and I intend to do everything in my power to do so. This cancer will not deter me.”
The Book Club star concluded her post by sharing links to two of her non-profit organisations, Fire Drill Fridays and Jane Fonda Climate PAC, both of which are focused on stopping the impacts of global warming and climate change.
When announcing her cancer diagnosis on Instagram last week, Fonda said that she’s already undergone six months of chemo and was “handling the treatments quite well”. She also said she wouldn’t let her cancer “interfere with [her] climate activism.”
“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,” she wrote. “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.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, NHL can impact white blood cells in the immune system called lymphocytes. When those cells grow abnormally, they can form tumours throughout the body.
