‘Facts of Life’ Star Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

Former Facts of Life star Mindy Cohn announced on Sunday that she is battling breast cancer for the second time.

The actress took to her Instagram on Sunday to announce the news.

“Have been off social media for awhile ‘cuz I had to kick cancer’s a–,” she wrote in the post, which featured a photo of her giving a thumbs up while in a hospital bed. “I did so with the extraordinary help of Providence Saint John’s hospital staff, especially my nurses Finja, Patty and Courtney and my hero, the phenomenal oncology surgeon [Dr. Anton Bilchik].”

She continued by thanking her family for being her advocates and always being “on the ready” to help her when it’s “her turn.”

“Recouping for another couple of weeks and then ready for my next adventure,” she declared. “Onwards! F–K Cancer!”

In 2017, Cohn revealed she battled breast cancer for five years before going public with the diagnosis. She said her life changed while taking a walk in her Los Angeles neighborhood in 2012.

“I just couldn’t go anymore,” she explained. “This was before Uber was really a thing, so I texted my friend Helen Hunt and said, ‘Something’s wrong with me. I need help.’”

Following the incident, Cohn went to the doctor and had a scan performed, which showed something in her breast. Following a biopsy, it was revealed she had cancer.

“I kept that secret for a long time,” she noted.

Years following the diagnosis, Cohn said she went through a “siege.” She ended up undergoing a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Although she deemed herself an optimist, Cohn was shaken when the cancer metastasized. “It kept spreading and coming back,” she said. “I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and then it would. And then I’d wait for another shoe to drop, and it would. I was frustrated and enraged. I couldn’t control any of this. I couldn’t fix it.”