Screen icon and activist Jane Fonda revealed Friday that she has been diagnosed with lymphoma and has started chemotherapy.
Fonda said that she has started treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which she said is “a very treatable cancer.” The actor, known for her work in film and television projects including “Barbarella,” “9 to 5” and “Grace and Frankie,” said she will undergo chemotherapy for six months and that she has been “handling the treatments quite well.”
Jane Fonda arrives at the Season 7 final episodes premiere of “Grace and Frankie,” on April 23, 2022, at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles. The 84-year-old actor said in an Instagram post Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, that she has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, file
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer that begins in the white blood cells and affects parts of the body’s immune system.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Fonda, 84, said: “80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.”
Fonda acknowledged that unlike many, she is privileged to have insurance, and access to the best doctors and care.
“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,” she said.
Fonda, who has been dedicated to multiple social causes throughout her decadeslong career, explained the link between her diagnosis and pressing global issues.
“We also need to be talking much more not just about cures but about causes so we can eliminate them, ” she said in her Instagram caption on Friday. “For example, people need to know that fossil fuels cause cancer. So do pesticides, many of which are fossil fuel-based, like mine.”
In recent years, Fonda has become a notable activist for climate change. In February 2020, the Oscar-winning actor kicked off a series of monthly protests in California to bring attention to the climate crisis.
“I’m really happy that we’re here,” Fonda previously said during a Los Angeles installment of her Fire Drill Fridays in 2020. “This is the place we can really emphasize stopping the drilling and the fracking.”
“Cancer is a teacher and I’m paying attention to the lessons it holds for me,” Fonda wrote Friday.
“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 the cancer, along with my age — almost 85 — definitely teaches the importance of adapting to new realities.”
She concluded her Instagram post by saying she “will not allow cancer to keep me doing from doing all I can.”
“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 said.
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