Jane Fonda Receives Joyous Birthday Health News: Best ‘Present Ever’

Jane Fonda has some amazing news to share. As Page Six noted, Fonda revealed that her cancer is in remission. She shared the wonderful news on her website in a blog post titled, “BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!”

Fonda turns 85 years old next week, but her birthday celebrations came a bit early thanks to this news. She explained, “Last week I was told by my oncologist that my cancer is in remission and I can discontinue chemo.” The actor said that she first went through four rounds of chemotherapy treatment, which were “rather easy” for her. However, the last treatment was “rough” on her and subsequently made it “hard to accomplish much of anything.”

Now that she is in remission, Fonda is reflecting on how “fortunate” she is to be on the other side of her cancer diagnosis. She added, “I am feeling so blessed, so fortunate. I thank all of you who prayed and sent good thoughts my way. I am confident that it played a role in the good news.” Fonda revealed in September that she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and would need to undergo chemotherapy for six months. Even though the diagnosis sounds frightening, Fonda kept things positive as she explained that she was feeling “lucky” that it was a very treatable diagnosis with an 80% survival rate. 

At the time, Fonda also acknowledged her own “privilege as a celebrity,” as it afforded the opportunity to get health insurance and “access to the best doctors and treatment.” She also referred to cancer as a “teacher” and that she would be paying attention to its lessons. The Grace and Frankie star added, “One thing it’s shown me already is the importance of community.”

While Fonda has been dealing with her cancer diagnosis, she has still been hard at work, particularly in regard to her climate change activism. In November, she opened up about her work with Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential (GCAPP), an organization that she founded in 1995 to help youth-serving groups in Georgia. At the time, she also told Entertainment Tonight that it’s important for her to champion such causes as she won’t be around forever. 

“For better or worse, celebrities bring attention to a subject matter. And I’m not gonna be around for much longer and we need to get celebrities involved in this issue so they can help keep it going,” Fonda said. “When you get to be my age, you better be aware of the amount of time that is behind you as opposed to in front of you. I mean, that’s just realistic.”