Jane Fonda reveals cancer diagnosis, "This is very treatable"

WASHINGTON: Oscar-winning actor Jane Fonda revealed she's been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a lengthy Instagram post shared on Friday. Fonda said she has begun chemotherapy and will continue treatments for six months. "This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky," the "Nine to Five" star wrote.

"I'm also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. I realize, and it's painful, that I am privileged in this," she added. "Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another and far too many don't have access to the quality health care I am receiving and this is not right."

The disease is already teaching her lessons, according to Fonda. "Cancer is a teacher and I'm paying attention to the lessons it holds for me," she wrote.

"One thing it's shown me already is the importance of community. Of growing and deepening one's community so that we are not alone. And the cancer, along with my age -- almost 85 -- definitely teaches the importance of adapting to new realities."

According to Fox News, Fonda is renowned for both her work as a climate activist and for her parts in well-known Hollywood films.

With roles in the movies "Tall Story" and the Broadway play "There Was a Little Girl," Fonda launched her acting career in the 1960s. According to Fonda, when carrying her first child in 1968, she was inspired by environmental advocacy.

She initially avoided participating in social justice movements altogether. She began taking part in protests by 1970. She said in her declaration that she wouldn't let "any of this interfere" with her efforts on behalf of the environment.