The day after her former Dawson’s Creek co-star James Van Der Beek died of colorectal cancer, Busy Philipps booked herself a full-body MRI. The scan revealed a brain tumor.
The self-titled “luckiest girl in the world” revealed her six-month battle with brain cancer in a new interview with PEOPLE. Philipps later learned from her neurosurgeon that she had grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare and slow-growing tumor with a 75-85% five-year survival rate. It helped that Philipps had caught it early, before she showed any symptoms.
Diagnosis and Treatment
“I didn’t know why I wanted to get this scan except for the fact that I just did,” she said. Philipps underwent successful surgery in early March.
Full-body MRIs are controversial, in part because they have high false-negative rates that turn out to be expensive for consumers. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that 90% of people find something, but 95% of those findings are “harmless cysts, nodules, or other changes that don’t affect overall health.” Harmless physically, sure, but not financially, and lots of people hit their insurance’s maximum out-of-pocket getting follow-up scans to rule out cancer.
Importance of Information
Even medical professionals don’t agree on whether they do more harm than good. Philipps notes that her own primary care doctor advised against a full-body MRI, while a doctor in her family encouraged her, saying, “Knowledge is power.”
Philipps now agrees. “There’s nothing to be afraid of in having information,” she said. “It’s only empowering.”
In conclusion, Busy Philipps has been open about her experience with brain cancer, highlighting the importance of being proactive about one’s health. Her story serves as a reminder that knowledge is power, and that being informed can be a powerful tool in the fight against cancer. With her successful surgery and positive outlook, Philipps is an inspiration to many, and her story will likely resonate with fans and non-fans alike.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte, widely regarded as the “Shakespeare of Sh*tposts,” is a video game expert with a unique knack for turning pixels into punchlines.
Born in the small town of Respawn, Pennsylvania, Pixel grew up mashing buttons on an ancient NES controller, firmly believing that “blowing into the cartridge” was a sacred ritual passed down through generations.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte: proving that life, much like a buggy open-world game, is better with a little lag-induced chaos.
