“The Office” star Jenna Fischer has been diagnosed with breast cancer

Fischer added in her caption that her Instagram post’s slides included more information about her breast cancer journey.

She said she had a routine mammogram last year and encouraged others to do the same. Then doctors discovered “something in my left breast,” she recalled.

She discovered that her type of breast cancer was aggressive but was responding to treatment. Stage 1 means the cancer has not yet spread to the lymph nodes or the rest of the body. In January, she underwent a lumpectomy to remove the tumor, followed by 12 rounds of chemotherapy and three weeks of radiation. She is now cancer-free, but continues to receive infusions of medication.

“I’m happy to say I’m doing great,” she wrote.

Fischer, a mother of two children ages 10 and 13, said before she decided to share her diagnosis, she wore wigs after losing her hair during chemotherapy.

“I am making this announcement for several reasons. First, I’m ready to throw away the wigs. Second, to ask you to get your annual mammograms,” she wrote.

“I’m serious, call your doctor immediately,” she continued. “My tumor was so small that it couldn’t be felt during a physical exam. If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse. It could have spread.”

“Seeing women posting photos from their mammogram appointments on Instagram made me want to create my own (which I was late for). I’m so glad I did this. Consider this your kick in the butt to make it.”

“I also share the hope that it will be a source of support for any woman going through this. As anyone who has had a cancer diagnosis knows, life changes instantly.”

The actress thanked her “wonderful village,” the medical team that helped her, the cancer survivors she came into contact with, and her friends and family, including her best friend and “The Office” co-star Angela Kinsey.

She also mentioned her husband, Lee Kirk, who “has been by my side through all of this.” After her final chemo and radiation treatment, he asked her how she wanted to celebrate. She replied that she “wanted to ring a bell with the kids in our backyard while everyone was throwing confetti.”

The last photo in her slideshow shows this exact moment.

What is triple positive breast cancer?

According to BreastCancer.org, triple-positive breast cancer occurs when the cancer cells contain higher levels of the HER2 protein as well as receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This means that when estrogen, progesterone or HER2 proteins bind to the cancer cells, they grow faster.

Therefore, these cancers are considered aggressive but respond better to treatment than triple-negative breast cancer, which tends to have a worse prognosis.

Treatment for triple-positive breast cancer usually includes surgery such as a mastectomy or lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, drugs that target the HER2 protein, and hormone therapy.