Julia Louis-Dreyfus Laughs Through Life
- Breast cancer survivor Julia Louis-Dreyfus, has offered some insight into finding her penchant for comedy. She recounted in a recent interview how something she did at the age of 3 was funny, but sent her to the hospital.
- Louis-Dreyfus was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer back in 2017. Following her diagnosis, she went public with news on her social media channels to an outpouring of support. She was announced to be “cancer-free” about a year later.
- Dr. Dana Chase, a Gynecologic Oncologist at UCLA Health, also it's important to try to focus on the good, stay positive, and do things that bring you joy [like making others laugh] to the degree you're able to do so amid battling a disease like cancer.
- “We know, actually from good studies, that emotional health, quality of life is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better survival, better outcomes," Dr. Chase tells SurvivorNet.
Recounting to NPR the first time she made someone laugh, Louis-Dreyfus said the comical incident may have led her to the hospital, but it was worthwhile.
During the NPR interview, Louis-Dreyfus also spoke about what led her to going public with her stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis, something she says “would have never ever been my intention.”
Expert Breast Cancer Resources
She explained, “Because we were in the middle of making [Veep] and I had hundreds of people relying on me, I had to talk about it publicly, because we had to shut down for a number of months.
“I’m more private than that … it’s not something I would have normally mentioned. But the nice thing about it, about being public … is that a lot of people reached out to me as a result of my saying that I was enduring this and I was able, therefore, to reach out and help others with their cancer struggles. And that has been very meaningful to me.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Cancer Journey
Louis-Dreyfus was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer back in 2017. Following her diagnosis, she went public with news on her social media channels to an outpouring of support.
“1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I'm the one,” she wrote in her tweet.
Her tweet continued, “The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union.
“The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let's fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality.”
Just when you thought… pic.twitter.com/SbtYChwiEj
— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) September 28, 2017
As Louis-Dreyfus bravely fought her breast cancer head-on, she underwent six rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy during her treatment. It took roughly a year, but in October 2018, she announced she was cancer-free.
"I got diagnosed with cancer, and I powered through it," the long-time actress turned cancer warrior told "People" during a 2018 interview.
"I came out the other side…I'm grateful for all of it," she continued.
WATCH: Understanding Your Breast Cancer Diagnosis
What is Stage 2 Beast Cancer?
To better understand Louis-Dreyfus' cancer diagnosis, it's important to talk about what 'stage' means for breast cancer patients.
"Stage really refers to how big a tumor is and how many lymph nodes are involved," Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
"When a woman has stage 2 breast cancer, it means that the tumor's probably bigger than 2 cm and/or she has lymph nodes involved,” Dr. Comen explained.
“And if she has lymph nodes involved, she probably doesn't have that many lymph nodes involved. Because if you have more lymph nodes, like 10, 11, 12, then that might be referred to as Stage 3 cancer."
Treating Stage 2 Breast Cancer
There are many treatment options for people with breast cancer, but treatment depends greatly on the specifics of each case. The stage is just one of the defining characteristic that can be used to help determine the treatment path.
"Patients come to me all the time asking, 'What is the stage of my cancer?’" Dr. Comen said. "Stage is kind of an old way of thinking about how we treat breast cancer. But, yet, it is still one of the ways that we put patients into categories to figure out the types of treatments that may be available to them."
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Thanks to advancements in cancer research, today's treatment options depend on much more than just stage. Doctors also consider the hormones, biology and genetics involved with each case to determine the best course of treatment.
"When it comes to deciding the type of treatment that a woman needs, it's not just the size of the tumor and how many lymph nodes are involved and the stage," she explained. "It's really also the biology. Is it hormone receptor positive? Is this a cancer that we probably need chemotherapy for? Or maybe we don't need chemotherapy for."
In other words, it's not just the stage that's going to "drive your cancer," according to Dr. Comen. And figuring out the other factors that will "drive" it is what's really going to help your oncologist pick the most beneficial treatments for you. Identifying these specifics means looking into whether the cancerous cells have certain receptors. These receptors the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and the HER2 receptor can help identify the unique features of the cancer and help personalize treatment.
"These receptors, I like to imagine them like little hands on the outside of the cell, they can grab hold of what we call ligands, and these ligands are essentially the hormones that may be circulating in the bloodstream that can then be pulled into this cancer cell and used as a fertilizer, as growth support for the cells," Dr. Comen told SurvivorNet.
Hormone Therapies for Breast Cancer: Aromatase Inhibitor
One example of a type of ligand that can stimulate a cancer cell is the hormone estrogen, hence why an estrogen receptor positive breast cancer will grow when stimulated by estrogen. For these cases, your doctor may offer treatment that specifically targets the estrogen receptor. But for HER2 positive breast cancers, therapies that uniquely target the HER2 receptor may be the most beneficial.
The Importance of Laughter & Positivity
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a perfect example of someone who uses laughter and positivity when times get tough.
It's also interesting to note, that according to the National Library of Medicine, research has shown that the amount of pain medication needed for patients is reduced after they watch funny movies.
And perhaps laughter, like Louis-Dreyfus makes sure to have in her life, could also help when someone is dealing with the pain that comes amid a health challenge, whether it's any sort of health battle, like breast cancer.
The importance of positivity amid tough times has been seen through stand-up comedian Jesus Trejo in Long Beach, California.
Trejo became a caregiver for both of his parents after his mother was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor and his father was later faced with colon cancer. But instead of panicking and focusing on the devastating nature of the situation, the only child stepped up to care for his parents with love and laughter.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Trejo opened up about how he put his career aside to care for his parents in their time of need while making time to smile along the way.
Stand-Up Comedian & Cancer Caregiver, Jesus Trejo Reminds Us That 'Laughter is a Game-Changer'
"The only advice I have for anyone watching this is laugh, and laugh often, laugh at yourself. Don't take yourself seriously. Things are already bad. Because once you do that, it's a game-changer,""Trejo told SurvivorNet.
He also says the laughter itself might be brief, but "the effects of it just reverberate through your body, and can change an already bad situation into a better one."
Focusing on hope, and maintaining a positive attitude amid a health battle can always be helpful.
Anecdotal evidence from SurvivorNet experts points to how a positive mindset can impact a cancer prognosis.
Dr. Zuri Murrell of Cedars-Sinai told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, "My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they're diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK. Now doesn't that mean I'm good at saying that the cancer won't grow."
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"But I'm pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life."
Meanwhile, Dr. Dana Chase, a Gynecologic Oncologist at UCLA Health, also says it's important to try to focus on the good, stay positive, and do things that bring you joy to the degree you're able to do so amid battling a disease like cancer.
"We know, actually from good studies, that emotional health, quality of life is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better survival, better outcomes," Dr. Chase said in an earlier interview.
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Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
