Actress Nicole Eggert shared her regrets after confusing her breast cancer symptoms with menopause, delaying its detection
“I went for my yearly mammograms and my ultrasounds. I have dense breast tissue. So I was doing what I was supposed to be doing,” she recounted.
During that time, Eggert also began experiencing what she described as “really serious” and unexplained weight gain, further causing her to confuse the effects of breast cancer with menopause.
Image credits: _nicole_eggert
“I was at my ideal weight, and I was holding strong, and I was feeling really good,” she recalled. “And then, all of a sudden, no matter what I was doing, I was gaining weight.”
The actress eventually learned that the changes her body went through were the result of the type of cancer cells found on her breast. These cells were estrogen receptor-positive, which meant they grew and spread using the hormone.
The actress emphasized the importance of self-examination, which can help women get treatment early by recognizing abnormalities in their breasts
Image credits: _nicole_eggert
For Eggert, the realization of her condition came after she conducted a self-examination, motivated by pain and throbbing in her breasts, unlike anything she had ever experienced.
“I went ahead and did the self-exam as soon as I felt the throbbing. And I found it. And it was this moment of like, ‘How did I not know that was there?’” she recalled.
“I was not doing self-exams. So, I want to stress that women and men should do the self-exams. Feel yourself up. Get to know your girls. If I had been doing that, I would have found it much sooner,” she said.
Image credits: _nicole_eggert
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, “Adult women of all ages are encouraged to perform breast self-exams at least once a month.”
The foundation also states that while self-exams are not a replacement for mammograms, they can help women detect cancer early by helping them become familiar with how their breasts normally look and feel.
“Alert your healthcare professional if you notice any changes in your breasts, such as a new lump, sore spot, changes in the appearance of the skin, or nipple discharge,” the site read.
Eggert has progressed positively in her treatment, but she’s expected to undergo at least two more surgeries, as well as hormone therapy
Image credits: _nicole_eggert
After her diagnosis, Eggert underwent a mastectomy and completed chemotherapy earlier this year. Her treatment is far from complete, however, as she still has another breast surgery to go, which will be coupled with a reconstruction procedure.
The actress maintained her sense of humor and positive attitude but recognized the emotional toll the process has had on her, especially after learning that her cancer was “more advanced” than her doctors anticipated.
Image credits: _nicole_eggert
Eggert, who has been regularly updating her fans on her progress, explained in early December how sharing her journey has been a major boost to her mental health and has allowed her to form a community around the challenging illness.
Image credits: _nicole_eggert
“They have a place to come and somebody to relate to that’s going through the same things. It also gives everybody a platform to start chatting and talking about what they did and how their experience was,” she explained.
“You really learn a lot that way too. I think every platform that we can have to talk about this disease is good.”
The support of her followers and the love of her youngest daughter have been crucial in her road to recovery
Image credits: Fotos International/Getty Images
Image credits: Fotos International/Getty Images
The love of her online community has been critical for the actress who, in an interview with Fox News, described herself as “having nothing” to support her—not even family.
The actress is the mother of two daughters, 25-year-old Dilyn and 12-year-old Keegan.
“There’s just no succumbing to this,” she said while thinking of her daughters. “To think of them in pain or to think of them losing me or being hurt in any way. It hurts us tenfold.
“And so that’s what it is. It’s figuring this out and fighting as hard as I can so that my kids have a mom.”
