Jane Fonda Announces Cancer Diagnosis

Beloved actress and fashion model Jane Fonda announced that she has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The former video workout pioneer made the announcement on her Instagram account, where she revealed that she’s begun chemotherapy treatments for cancer. Fonda made a point of how she is lucky and privileged since she has health insurance to cover the high medical costs that go into fighting cancer, and stated that it isn’t right that “far too many don’t have access to the quality health care I am receiving and this is not right.”

Jane Fonda began her post with, “So, my dear friends, I have something personal I want to share. I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments.” She added, “This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.”

She continued, “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. 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.”

Jane Fonda is the daughter of socialite Frances Ford Seymor and actor Henry Fonda, and along with her many accolades, Jane Fonda is also known for being a vocal activist, supporting the civil rights movement and opposing the Vietnam War in the 1960s, as well as supporting feminists and the LGBTQ+ community. 

Photo credit via Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Women In Film (WIF)