Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images
Jane Fondais reflecting on her difficult journey with chemotherapy.
TheGrace and Frankiestar, who revealed in September that she wasdiagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, opened up toEntertainment Tonightabout going through cancer treatments last year. Fonda, 85, announced last month that hercancer is in remissionbut admitted to the outlet that chemotherapy “hit me hard.”
“It was the first time that I thought, ‘OK, this is what most people experience.’ Because the kind of chemo that I was taking wasn’t so bad in the beginning,” she said, noting that it got more draining as time went on.
The actress said she learned her cancer was in remission right before her 85th birthday, which gave her a bigger reason to celebrate but also allowed her to reflect on mortality — something she says is important to do.
“I think about death a lot. I have for the last 30 years,” Fonda toldET. “I think that’s a healthy thing to do. It’s hard to live right if you don’t think about death. It’s a part of life.”
“Other cultures aren’t so afraid of thinking about death as we are,” she continued. “I spend a lot of time thinking about it and it’s made my life a lot better. And when you get a cancer diagnosis, you think about it even more and you want to be sure you get the things done that you want to get done, so when the time comes you won’t have a lot of regrets.”
Fonda announced that her cancer was in remission on Instagram, sharing a photo of her at a climate rally in Washington, D.C.
“I’m especially happy because while my first 4 chemo treatments were rather easy for me, only a few days of being tired, the last chemo session was rough and lasted 2 weeks making it hard to accomplish much of anything,” Fonda shared.
“The effects wore off just as I went to D.C. for the first live, in-person Fire Drill Fridays rally,” she said. Fire Drill Fridays are a demonstration to raise awareness about climate change that she leads every week.
Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Pennsylvania Conference for Women
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Fonda originally revealed her diagnosis in September.
“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 began her Instagrampost. “This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.”
She acknowledged that she is “privileged” in being able to afford quality healthcare when many others can’t, while using her diagnosis as a call-to-action during “the most consequential time in human history.”
“I will not allow cancer to keep me from doing all I can,” the actress wrote. “Using every tool in my toolbox and that very much includes continuing to build thisFire Drill Fridayscommunity and finding new ways to use our collective strength to make change.”
“I want to say again that this is a very treatable cancer and much progress has been made with the medicines patients are given,” she wrote at the time.
source: people.com
