Hanks’ wife: second opinion saved me from breast cancer
TOM HANKS’S wife has had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she revealed yesterday.
Actress Rita Wilson said she was being supported by her Oscarwinner husband and family and paid tribute to the doctors who saved her life.
The mother of four, 58, said it was only after getting a second opinion that the cancer was detected and she opted for lifesaving surgery.
She said she had the mastectomy and reconstruction last week and explained the cancer had been missed by the first set of tests.
The type of cancer she had, invasive lobular carcinoma, is often not picked up by routine screen- ings. It accounts for about 10 per cent of breast cancer cases and is most common in women between the age of 45 and 55.
Miss Wilson said: ‘A friend who had had breast cancer suggested I get a second opinion on my pathology and my gut told me that was the thing to do. A different pathologist found invasive lobular carcinoma. His diagnosis of cancer was confirmed by yet another pathologist.’
The actress, who appeared in Sleepless In Seattle alongside her husband, is the latest celebrity to have the procedure, following Angelina Jolie, 39, and former pop star Michelle Heaton, 35.
Miss Jolie had a double mastectomy as a preventative measure after tests revealed she carried a mutation in the BRCA1 gene that gave her an estimated 87 per cent risk of breast cancer. When she said last year that she had had the operation, it led to a doubling in NHS referrals for genetic tests for breast cancer risk.
Miss Wilson said yesterday that she decided to go public in the hope that other women would also seek out second opinions from doctors even if initial tests showed them to be cancer free.
She said: ‘Last week, with my husband by my side, and with the love and support of family and friends, I underwent a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction for breast cancer.
‘ I am recovering and, most importantly, expected to make a full recovery. Why? Because I caught this early, have excellent doctors and because I got a second opinion.’
She added: ‘I share this to educate others that a second opinion is critical to your health. You have nothing to lose if both opinions match up for the good, and everything to gain if something that was missed is found, which does happen. Early diagnosis is key.
‘I feel blessed to have a loving, supportive husband, f amily, friends and doctors and that I am the beneficiary of advances in the field of breast cancer and reconstruction. I am getting better every day and look forward to renewed health.’
Miss Wilson and Hanks, 58, have been married for 27 years. As well as acting, she produced the comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which took more than £160million to become one of the most successful independent films ever.
‘Nothing to lose’