Julia Louis-Dreyfus Just Posted A Photo Revealing What Her Second Round Of Chemo Was Like
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Her post is capped off with an image of Julia wearing a black hoodie, sunglasses, and a lovely drawn-on handlebar mustache. Because she’s got to make us crack a smile, too, even in such a situation.
A post shared by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@officialjld) on Oct 19, 2017 at 5:14pm PDT
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Julia’s Veep co-stars Tony Hale and Timothy Simons performed a comedic rendition of Katy Perry’s Roar that Julia also posted to Instagram.
How lucky am I that these bozos have my back? What a moving inspiration to my day. I’ve watched it a gazillion times. Thanks to @mrtonyhale @timothycsimons @katyperry
A post shared by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@officialjld) on Oct 20, 2017 at 8:29am PDT
All joking aside, the day after winning her 11th Emmy, Julia announced that she had breast cancer via a matter-of-fact social media posting on Twitter and Instagram. “1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one,” she said.
According to Breastcancer.org, it’s estimated that in 2017, there will be 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in women.
Though not all women will need to undergo chemo for breast cancer, it may be used before surgery to shrink the tumor, after surgery to reduce the risk of breast cancer returning, or for advanced breast cancer in women where the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, notes the American Cancer Society. While it’s often a life-saving treatment, the side effects can include hair loss, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue.
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The American Cancer Society points out that the rates of chemotherapy largely depend on when the cancer is detected. For women who are diagnosed with early stage (I or II) breast cancer, just 4 percent get radiation and/or chemo. Of those with late stage (III or IV) breast cancer, 16 percent need radiation and/or chemo.
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The five-year survival rate for breast cancer in women is now 90 percent—up from 75 percent four decades earlier, according to the American Cancer Society. Chemotherapy is one reason more women are beating it. Another? Mammograms. While there’s no widespread agreement on when to start annual mammograms, when you hit age 40 you can start them if you’d like, per American Cancer Society recommendations. At age 45, you should start getting them every year.
We’re sure it’s a rough road, but are so happy to see Julia handling it with aplomb.