BEST LIFE – Rita Wilson wears many hats: She’s an actor, a country music singer, and of course the wife of Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks.
But in 2015, the multi-hyphenated talent was delivered a surprising setback when she learned she had breast cancer.
Taking leave from her Broadway role in Fish in the Dark opposite Larry David, Wilson underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive breast surgery before being pronounced cancer-free.
Since then, she’s been spreading one important message about the medical choice she believes saved her life following her difficult diagnosis.
Wilson was first diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS).
“You can get a second opinion—your insurance will pay for it, even Obamacare, God bless it, will pay for it.” – RITA WILSON
Prior to her cancer diagnosis, Wilson was discovered to have lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), a non-cancerous condition in which abnormal cells form in the milk ducts of the breasts.
People with LCIS are more likely to develop breast cancer in the future, so Wilson’s doctors closely monitored the condition with regular MRIs and mammograms.
SHE’S PASSIONATE ABOUT SHARING THIS CRUCIAL MESSAGE WITH OTHERS
“In LCIS, cells that look like cancer cells are growing in the lining of the milk-producing glands (lobules) of the breast, but they don’t invade through the wall of the lobules,” explains the American Cancer Society.
In 2015, when she went for her annual screening, doctors performed biopsies on her abnormal cells, but believed them to be benign. “I was relieved when the pathology showed no cancer,” she shared in a 2015 statement published by People.
However, shortly after, Wilson learned that she actually suffered from an invasive form of breast cancer, pleomorphic carcinoma in situ (PLCIS), which would require a bilateral mastectomy.
Now 100 percent cancer-free, the usually-private star is adamant about making one of her medical decisions public.
Wilson says her decision to seek a second opinion following her initial test results was the key to her successful recovery … read more.
