In the fight against cancer
These stars had their breasts removed
Sonya Kraus and Angelina Jolie, among others, had their breasts removed.
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Sonya Kraus had both breasts removed in 2021 because of breast cancer. Some celebrity women have already taken the step.
Luckily she went for a routine check up! This is where Sonya Kraus (48) found out about her breast cancer. She then decided to have an operation to defeat the disease, as she said “Bunte”. She had both breasts removed, known in technical jargon as a mastectomy. Other celebrity women have already done this.
Sonya Kraus
Presenter Sonya Kraus had a 0.8 centimeter small but highly aggressive tumor in her breast in September 2021. In the “Bunte” interview, she explained why she decided to have her breasts removed: “I wanted the most radical procedure and the greatest possible chance for me not to get sick again.” This was followed by chemotherapy and breast reconstruction.
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (50) became known as Kelly Bundy with the hit sitcom “A Terribly Nice Family” (1987-1997). The actress also spoke about her cancer: in 2008 she had her breasts removed after being diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2017, her ovaries and fallopian tubes were also removed.
Angelina Jolie
Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie (46) had her breasts removed in 2013, followed a year later by the ovaries. “My kids won’t have to say, ‘My mom died of ovarian cancer,'” the actress explained.
Wanda Sykes
The US actress Wanda Sykes (57) found out about her illness in 2011 after a breast reduction, she told Ellen DeGeneres (64) on the show. Although the cancer was not yet advanced, she decided to have a breast removal. The comedian doesn’t want to have check-ups every three months and breast cancer runs in her family.
Anastasia
Singer Anastacia (53) also chose the drastic variant after fighting breast cancer for years since being diagnosed in 2003. When the cancer came back in 2013, she underwent a bilateral mastectomy.
Julia Louis Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (61) published her cancer diagnosis on Instagram in September 2017. She then underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy. In the meantime, she is grateful to be alive, the actress revealed in an interview a year after her illness became known.
Rita Wilson
Actress Rita Wilson (65, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) announced in 2015 that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She also decided to have the surgery.
Olivia Newton-John
British-Australian “Grease” star Olivia Newton-John (73) was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She underwent a mastectomy. In May 2017, she announced that she had to fight the insidious disease again.
Sharon Osbourne
US star Sharon Osbourne (69) was found to have an increased risk of breast cancer, as she once revealed. Fear of illness also prompted her to have both breasts removed, as she announced in 2012.
Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates (73, “Misery”) also published in 2012 that she had both breasts removed because of breast cancer. “After much deliberation, I had a double mastectomy done. Luckily I don’t have to undergo any radiation or chemotherapy,” she explained in an interview at the time. She had previously survived ovarian cancer.
Shannen Doherty
Actress Shannen Doherty (50, “Beverly Hills, 90210”) has been fighting breast cancer since 2015. After both her breasts were amputated, she went under the knife again to have them rebuilt. Then in February 2020 came the big shock: the disease is back.
Patricia Kelly
Shortly before her 40th birthday, Patricia Kelly (52) was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a result, she had the tissue in her breast removed in October 2010. “It hurt inhumanly. You felt like a thousand knives were cutting your chest. Everything burned like fire,” the singer later described the operation in an interview with “Stern TV”. Since then she has worn a prosthesis.
The Kelly Family star also explained in an interview how exactly the surgery works: “The inner area, i.e. the tissue, was removed, the skin remains and the prosthesis replaces the tissue.” She is grateful that she can feel feminine despite the prosthesis and is happy: “Before the operation I would never have thought that it would be so beautiful. I’m just grateful: I can still be beautiful and feminine.”