Actress Rita Wilson is speaking out about her battle with breast cancer.
Wilson, 58, revealed in a statement to People magazine that she underwent a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma, a form of breast cancer.
“I have taken a leave from the play Fish in the Dark to deal with a personal health issue,” Wilson said in the statement. “Last week, with my husband by my side, and with the love and support of family and friends, I underwent a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction for breast cancer after a diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma. I am recovering and most importantly, expected to make a full recovery. Why? Because I caught this early, have excellent doctors and because I got a second opinion.”
Wilson, who is married to actor Tom Hanks, said her doctors had been monitoring her for a condition called lobular carcinoma in situ, which can increase the risk of breast cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic.
After biopsies found no cancer, a friend urged Wilson to get a second opinion, which revealed cancer. Wilson says the second opinion was crucial.
“(A) second opinion is necessary and vital. Not just by another doctor but by another pathologist,” she wrote on Facebook.
Wilson, who has appeared in the films “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Runaway Bride” and on television in “The Good Wife” and “Girls,” expressed gratitude for her support system and hope for the future.
“I feel blessed to have a loving, supportive husband, family, friends and doctors and that I am the beneficiary of advances in the field of breast cancer and reconstruction. I am getting better every day and look forward to renewed health.”
Fans sent well-wishes via Facebook, and some thanked Wilson for being so open about her fight.
“All the best Rita, you will be in my thoughts. Thanks for sharing such a personal health issue in the hope it saves others. Very very kind. Keep strong gorgeous,” wrote one Facebooker.