Famous women who won the fight against breast cancer

CAIRO – 20 October 2017: October is the international month of Breast Cancer awareness, which aims to spread the word about the importance of periodical checks in detecting and fighting the disease in its early stages. American Cancer Society (ACS) and prevention.com have reported that if breast cancer was detected early and was limited to the breast, the five-year survival rate would be 99 percent.

While they might appear invulnerable on the screen, off it they are just like the rest of us. They enjoy the better parts of life and fight through hardships. These starlets have stood the hardest test; bravely fought cancer, and won the fight in the most inspiring of ways.

Shadia (Egyptian actress): The well-established Egyptian actress’s story with the disease started when she felt pain in her chest during her performance in her famous play “Raya wa Sekina” in the early 1980s. After paying the doctor a visit, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she stood strong and traveled overseas to receive her treatment and had one of her breasts removed. Shortly after, she returned and donated her apartment to become a breast cancer research center to help all patients with the disease.


Shadia - CC IMdb

Basma Wahba (Egyptian media personality): At the age of 39, and while she was in Dubai to sign some business contracts, she found out by accident that she had the disease when she was praying and felt a weird lump in her chest. A mammogram soon after revealed she had cancer. According to Hayatouki’s website, Wahba was told her cancer was related to her sorrow, and she went on to receive a year of treatment and had one of her breasts removed. In her interviews, she always encourages women to stay joyful and have periodical checks.


Tv presenter Basma Wahba –“Ana Wel Aasal” program - AlHayah Network/YouTube still

Angelina Jolie (American actress): When she was told by her doctors there was an 87 percent possibility that she is likely to suffer from the disease, she took the brave decision to have a double mastectomy as a preventive measure; after she witnessed her mother suffer from the disease for almost a decade.


Actress Angelina Jolie – CC wikimedia commons

Christina Applegate (American actress): At 36, the famous TV starlet was diagnosed with breast cancer which she learnt was caused due to a genetic mutation; BRCA or the "breast cancer gene.” Applegate was forced to have a double mastectomy, which she struggled to accept as she admitted to Oprah in a 2008 interview, according to everydayhealth.com


Christina Applegate - CC IMDP


Wanda Sykes (American comedian): After a breast reduction surgery she had in 2011, Wanda found she had a stage 0 cancer which was genetic. According to everydayhealth, she opted for a double mastectomy to avoid all chances of having the disease as she explained in an interview with Ellen Degeneres.


Wanda Sykes on Conan - Team Coco/ YouTube thumbnail