Just over a week after Jenna Fischer publicly revealed her breast cancer diagnosis, the former “The Office” actor is opening up about her journey, treatment and how her mindset has changed.

On October 8, Fischer, 50, shared an Instagram post for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, revealing that she was diagnosed with stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer in December 2023. She wrote that after undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, she is now cancer-free.

In a one-on-one conversation with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb that aired Oct. 21, Fischer said she hoped sharing her story would provide comfort and hope to another woman diagnosed with breast cancer.

The diagnosis

The actor told Hoda that she went in in October 2023 for her routine mammography appointment that she had postponed.

“Three weeks later they said, ‘Oh, your mammogram was fine. There were a few spots that were hard to see. You have very dense tissue. We recommend that you have another mammogram and possibly an ultrasound of the breasts,” she said about the conversation with her doctor.

“I was like, ‘This is the deal that won’t end,’” Fischer added with a laugh.

She explained that she felt “no worries” when she returned for an ultrasound of her breasts. However, they then asked her to do a biopsy, saying it was probably a “10% chance that it was cancer.”

Fischer said she was walking alone when she received the results through her patient portal.

“I checked the portal during the walk and then I saw words like ‘invasive,’ ‘ductal,’ ‘carcinoma,’ ‘malignant,'” she said. “And I thought, ‘Those words sound like cancer words.’”

She then called her husband, Lee Kirk, to tell him the results, although she wasn’t sure if it was cancer until her doctor confirmed it later that same day.

When her doctor told her about her diagnosis, Fischer said she simply felt “disbelief.”

“I think the word that really hit me was when we found out I was triple positive and my oncologist said chemotherapy. That’s when I really lost it,” she said.

Treatment

Fischer told Hoda about the reality of losing hair during chemotherapy, which she said was one of the side effects she was most concerned about.

“I started with a big bald spot on this side of my head. And I would do a very elaborate comb-over,” she said, laughing. “I was like, ‘Oh, I understand now why these guys are doing this. Yes, I can pretend that it isn’t there for a while.’”

Although Fischer said she thought about it, she never had a “big shave-your-head moment.” In addition to styling her new part, she said she also opted to wear more hats and wigs during the treatment.

Leaning on her support system

When it came to sharing the news with friends and family, the “Hall Pass” actor revealed one of the first people she called after receiving her diagnosis was Christina Applegate.

“I called her, she answered and said, ‘Which one is it?’ And I said, ‘It’s breast cancer.’ And she said, ‘I knew it.'” Fischer recalled their conversation. “She’s salty. Salty language that. That’s why I love it.’

Fischer said Applegate connected her with fellow survivors and they took her journey “together.”

As for telling her children, Weston Lee, 13, and Harper Marie, 10, Fisher said she and her husband “sat them down” and “were very honest with them.”

“They’re ten and thirteen, and they were going to live in the house while I was going through this. They’re going to see it. And the most important thing I wanted them to know was that all the ways I seemed sick during this process were side effects of treatments. It wasn’t cancer that made me sick,” she said.

“I think that distinction really put them at ease. And then we just did it together. And they were great.”

Where things stand

In addition to chemotherapy, Fischer said she also underwent a lumpectomy and radiation. After her final screenings, the actor said she is cancer-free, although she will continue to take tamoxifen and Herceptin for the next year.

Fischer told Hoda that two saving graces during her experience were maintaining a sense of humor and normalcy.

“Humour helped with all of this. And working helped. And staying in the world helped,” she said. “My oncology nurse, Ron, was a wonderful man. … When I started chemotherapy, he told me, ‘Listen, I want you to get up every day and I want you to walk. Every day. ”

“I want you to drink a ton of water. Walking and water. That’s what I want you to do. And I want you to take care of those children. The women who do it are the women who do it better, in my experience.’”

Fischer said one of the best pieces of advice she received was to “live your life through this process,” while also listening to her body.

“I did,” she said. “And some days I would just walk laps in my own living room. Some days I walked around the block. But I got up every day and did those things. And I think it has made a very big difference.”

Reflecting on the past year, Fischer told Hoda that one of the biggest lessons she has learned is the impact of people caring for other people.

“So many people have taken care of me, my family and my children, and I am so grateful for it – in so many small ways,” she said. “And the thing is, everyone had the right way or the perfect way to do it.”

Fischer explained that some friends put her chemotherapy schedule on their calendars, while others sent thoughtful texts and picked up her children from school. She said her mother-in-law recorded prayers that she would send before the treatments.

The mother of two said this entire journey made her look at the world through a new lens of gratitude.

“I liked that people were annoyed when I was late with an email,” she said. “I liked being considered my old self, so to speak.”

“All the important things became so clear so quickly. And the nice thing is that that focus never goes away. So I’m going to carry that with me now. … I will say that I think the world is such a beautiful place, in all its quirkiness.”

Fischer added that everyday annoyances have suddenly become “charming” for her.

“Like, you know, just traffic. “Oh, look, cute traffic. Look at all these people just going somewhere,” she said. “How wonderful that I get to sit in traffic. How cool.”

Fischer’s final takeaway from her experience is a message to all women: “Please don’t miss your mammogram appointment. Make sure you get all the extra tests the doctor expects of you.’

She credits the success of her treatments to her early diagnosis, which encouraged more people to book the ‘annoying’ appointment.

“If I had waited another six months, it could have been a lot worse. It could have spread. It was a very aggressive form of cancer,” Fischer said. “I’m really lucky that my cancer hasn’t spread to my lymph nodes. It had not spread anywhere else in my body.”

“My tumor was still very small, too small to feel,” she added. ‘That’s the point. A self-examination would not have caught the cancer. It was really that routine mammogram that started this all. And I am so grateful that I went to that appointment.”