American actress and climate activist Jane Seymour Fonda on Saturday wrote about her cancer treatment in a long post on social media. The actress took to Instagram on being diagnosed with cancer and having the treatments.
Jane Fonda has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which is a type of cancer that begins in the lymphatic system. In this case, the white blood cells or the germ fighters of the body grow abnormally and form tumors in the body. A change or mutation in the DNA of the white blood cells is the reason why this form of cancer occurs.
Jane described the cancer as a "very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive..."
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
The common bodily signs and symptoms associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are: swollen lymph nodes often found in the neck, armpits or groin, abdominal pain, swelling in the abdomen region, feeling full after having only a small amount of food, chest pain, coughing, trouble in breathing, fatigue, fever, night sweats, weight loss for no reason, frequent infections and easy bruising.
As per the American Cancer Society, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases comprise 4% of the total cancer cases in the United States. It also says that the chance that a man will develop this cancer in his lifetime is about 1 in 42 and for a woman the risk is about 1 in 52.
The overall 5-year relative survival rate for people with this form of cancer is 73%, the American Cancer Society says.
"So I feel very lucky"
Apart from describing it as a treatable form of cancer, Jane also feels lucky about being the privileged one, she wrote in the post.
"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," she wrote hinting at the lack of facilities to many people and added that "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."
On the cause behind cancer
The climate activist talked about a very serious matter in connection with cancer. In the social media post, she wrote that people need to know about the cause of the cancer and not just the cures.
"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," she wrote.
On her treatment
The climate activist, who is as much known as an Oscar winning actress as a political activist for opposing the Vietnam War, has also talked about her treatment, how she is doing well with it and how she will keep on working for the climate.
"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," she wrote.
"Cancer is a teacher"
Cancer survivors are winners! Their willpower to survive, the strength to endure the pain during the course of the treatment and the mindset to motivate others is commendable.
On her experience with the disease and the treatment, Jane says, "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 cancer, along with my age --almost 85-- definitely teaches the importance of adapting to new realities."
"We’re living through the most consequential time in human history because what we do or don’t do right now will determine what kind of future there will be and I will not allow cancer to keep me from doing all I can, using every tool in my toolbox and that very much includes continuing to build this Fire Drill Fridays community and finding new ways to use our collective strength to make change," she also wrote.
She ended her post with a reference to the midterm elections which are scheduled in November. "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 wrote and ended her post.
