Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Open up About Their Battle with Cancer

At the Stand Up to Cancer telecast on Friday, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson opened up about Rita’s battle with breast cancer in April of 2015, ET reports.

Rita shared she was diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 2015 and underwent a double mastectomy and thankfully was cancer-free in December.

“I want to say, first of all, that I’m thankful for every single day,” Wilson shared.”It’s encouraging. For me, it’s all about awareness and about raising money. I had incredible doctors. I was initially misdiagnosed and I got a second opinion on my pathology [which] showed that I did have cancer. So with that very, very early diagnosis I was able to take care of it and get it all done.”

The couple recognizes how incredibly important it is to have a support system around you when the worst strikes,

“No one should go through this alone. That not only goes for the person who is carrying it and in bed for a very long time, but there’s also the people who love them,” Hanks said.

“This is an organization here that will step up, stand up for you,” he said, talking about Stand Up To Cancer. “All you have to do is make a call, get involved. You will not be alone in what could be some of the darkest days of your year.”

Rita leaned both on her tribe of people as well as turned to music for support,

“Music is a thing that actually can change your mood no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s listening to music or being able to write these songs,” she said. “It’s been an amazing outlet not only when you’re feeling sad, but when you’re feeling happy too.”