‘The Office’ Actress Opens Up About Breast Cancer, Martha Davis Cancels Concerts After Radiation and More

October 11, 2024
Alex Biese
Alex Biese

A nationally-published, award-winning journalist, Alex Biese joined the CURE team as an assistant managing editor in April 2023. Prior to that, Alex's work was published in outlets including the Chicago Sun-Times, MTV.com, USA TODAY and the Press of Atlantic City. Alex is a member of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, and also performs at the Jersey Shore with the acoustic jam band Somewhat Relative.

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Ashley Chan

Ashley Chan, assistant editor for CURE®, has been with MJH Life Sciences since June 2023. She graduated with a B.A. in Communication Studies from Rowan University. Outside of work, Ashley enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading new novels by Asian American authors, and working on the manuscript of her New Adult novel.

From Jenna Fischer announcing her breast cancer diagnosis to Martha Davis and the Motels canceling concerts after her radiation therapy, here’s what’s happening in the cancer space this week.

“The Office” star Jenna Fischer shared her breast cancer diagnosis.

Jenna Fischer, 50, well-known for her role as Pam Beesly on “The Office,” recently revealed that she had breast cancer.

The actress revealed on Instagram that she wanted to open up about her story, notably because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“I never thought I’d be making an announcement like this but here we are. Last December, I was diagnosed with stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer. After completing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation I am now cancer-free,” she wrote in the caption.

She noted on Instagram that a routine mammogram led to her doctors discovering “something in my left breast,” she wrote. “… My tumor was so small it could not be felt on a physical exam. If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse. It could have spread.”

Martha Davis and the Motels canceled concerts due to breast cancer.

1980s hit-maker Martha Davis and her band, the Motels, have canceled their concert engagements throughout the remainder of 2024 following Davis’ recent breast cancer diagnosis, Billboard has reported.

Davis — whose hits with the Motels included “Only the Lonely,” “Suddenly Last Summer” and “Total Control” — said in a statement that the band’s shows had to be canceled after she lost her voice due to radiation treatments.

“Had the estrogen blocker, the lumpectomy and now radiation,” Davis, 73, said in her statement. “The radiation has caused me to lose my voice … so no guitar, no voice … no shows … I’m doing well and will be delighted when all this is over.”

Billboard reported that Davis previously faced breast cancer from 1983 to 1984, at the height of the band’s success.

Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone, died of cancer.

The artist, dancer, designer and author Christoper Ciccone, the younger brother of pop icon Madonna, died of cancer on Oct. 4 at the age of 63, according to a report from the Associated Press.

“He was the closest human to me for so long,” Madonna posted on Instagram. “It’s hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo. We took each other’s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood.”

Ciccone appeared in his sister’s music videos, including “Lucky Star,” art directed her Blond Ambition World Tour, tour directed her The Girlie Show tour and interior designed her homes in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press.

In 2008, he released the bestselling memoir “Life with My Sister Madonna.”

Nicole Eggert of “Baywatch” underwent a single mastectomy.

The “Baywatch” actress, 52, recently shared that she received a mastectomy (surgery to remove one breast) and is expected to receive more treatment.

She received a diagnosis of stage 2 cribriform carcinoma — a rare form of breast cancer — in December 2023. In August of this year, she revealed that she had finished treatment and was in a “gray area” while she waited for imaging and potential surgery.

Eggert explained on the “Amy & T.J.” podcast with TV anchors Amy Robach and TJ Holmes that she opted for a double mastectomy (surgical removal of both breasts), but her doctor insisted on undergoing a single mastectomy.

“He said, ‘I know you want the double [mastectomy], but we also need to get you back into treatment. So let’s do the single — it will keep your immune system higher than if we take both,’” Eggert recalled her doctor’s statement on the podcast.

“Good Morning America” weather anchor Sam Champion underwent skin cancer surgery.

Sam Champion, longtime weather anchor for “Good Morning America,” took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Oct. 2 to document his treatment for skin cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Champion, 63, said he underwent Mohs surgery, a procedure that involves the removal of the visible tumor and a thin layer of tissue around it, with the tissue then being checked for cancer cells. If cancer cells are seen, another layer of skin is removed, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Champion has been public with his skin cancer history, posing in July that he’d had “dozens of skin cancer removed, most simple basal cell.”

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