Actress Jane Fonda revealed she has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and is undergoing chemotherapy.
The two-time Oscar winner revealed the news Friday via her Instagram account, calling the cancer “very treatable” and noting “80% of people survive.”
“I feel very lucky,” Fonda wrote, in part. “I’m also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. I realize, 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.
“... I’m doing chemo for 6 months and am handling the treatments quite well, and, believe me, I will not let any of this interfere with my climate activism.”
Fonda has been a longtime climate and political activist, and in her IG post she cited fossil fuels as the cause of cancer.
“People need to know that fossil fuels cause cancer. So do pesticides, many of which are fossil-fuel based, like mine. ... The midterms are looming and they are beyond consequential so you can count on me to be there together with you as we grow our army of climate champions.”
Fonda has dealt with cancer before. She had a tumor removed from her breast in 2010, and has also had skin cancer.
Part of a legendary Hollywood family that included her late father Henry and brother Peter, Fonda won Oscars for her performances in 1971’s “Klute” and 1978’s “Coming Home.” She has also starred in the films “Barbarella” and “9 to 5,” and in the Netflix series “Grace and Frankie.”
“... Cancer is a teacher and I’m paying attention to the lessons it holds for me,” Fonda wrote in her IG post.
The actress will turn 85 in December.
Contributing; Associated Press
