Good News for Applegate

Great news! Christina Applegate has been pronounced cancer-free after undergoing a double mastectomy. Wow.

I have read a lot about mastectomies and other breast cancer treatments, between Bathsheba's Breast and The Secret History of the War on Cancer (which I am slowly but surely plowing through, I promise!). Needless to say, the various surgeries have come a long way, as has a woman's right and ability to choose how far to go with her treatment. Applegate's mother is a long-term breast cancer survivor who had a recurrence many years after having a single mastectomy. So Applegate's attitude was to take no chances on a recurrence. As she says, "I just wanted to kind of be rid of this whole thing for me. This was the choice that I made, and it was a tough one."

I applaud Applegate's proactive approach to her treatment and I am thrilled that the outcome is freedom from cancer. She also says she will start raising money for cancer research (catch her appearance on SU2C!), MRIs (the test that saved her life), and gene testing (she has the breast cancer gene, BRCA1).

Perhaps best of all, Applegate is raising awareness about breast cancer and cancer in general by speaking out. The breast cancer movement has been able to move into mainstream consciousness thanks to fearless women like Applegate, who will talk about their breast cancer candidly and publicly. I hope survivors of other cancers that still have stigmas attached to them (HELLO! Aren't butts just as cute as breasts? Come on, colon cancer survivors! Put the word out there!) will follow the example of these incredible women.

Share your thoughts about Applegate's cancer journey in the comment section!

To read the complete ABC News article and watch the video of Applegate's interview, click here.