Rita Wilson Undergoes Double Mastectomy After Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Actress and singer Rita Wilson announced on Tuesday that she had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Wilson, 58, credits a second opinion for the procedure after an initial biopsy found no cancer.
“You have nothing to lose if both opinions match up for the good, and everything to gain if something that was missed is found, which does happen. Early diagnosis is key,” she said in a statement to People magazine.
The actress, who has been starring in Larry David’s “Fish in the Dark” on Broadway, is expecting to make a full recovery and to be back on stage May 5, according to her publicist Heidi Schaeffer.
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Wilson’s news comes after similar news from Angelina Jolie’s last month who stated that she’d undergone a similar mastectomy procedure for preventative reasons, citing her mother’s death from cancer and a defective breast cancer gene she carries as the reason for it.
“I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt,” Jolie wrote to the New York Times back in March. “I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn’t live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren.”
Both Wilson, the wife of actor Tom Hanks, and Jolie have called for awareness and receiving more information about breast cancer.
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In the original New York Times article, Jolie wrote, "I wanted other women at risk to know about the options. I promised to follow up with any information that could be useful, including about my next preventive surgery, the removal of my ovaries and fallopian tubes.”
In her statement Wilson also encouraged women everywhere to get a second opinion.
“I am getting better every day and look forward to renewed health,” Wilson told People. “I hope this will encourage others to get a second opinion and to trust their instincts if something doesn’t ‘feel’ right.”
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