Busy Philipps Says “I’m Grateful I’m Alive” After Rare Brain Tumor Diagnosis
Busy Philipps mentioned a health ordeal during her interview with a journalist recently that required her to undergo surgery twice for a brain tumor resection. “I’m very lucky to be alive,” recalled the Dawson’s Creek cast, adding that this period “turned out to be the most surreal six months of my life,” to a reporter.
According to Busy, who found out in February that she has grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a very rare but slowly progressing form of tumor, through her Prenuvo scan, which is actually a whole-body preventive MRI.
“I couldn’t really tell myself what reason made me want that scan except that I was driven by that factor; I just did,” the actress, who is 47, added, and she did not feel any illness symptoms, however. She decided to trust her inner voice, and at first the check was set for January, but when a big snowstorm hit New York City, where she resides, it pushed her to delay it several times.
Busy Philipps: James Van Der Beek Urged Me To Get Brain Scan
Busy’s heart must have been bleeding. Her beloved pal and fellow Dawson’s Creek actor, James Van Der Beek, whom she had shared many years with, lost his battle to colon cancer at the quite young age of 48.
In addition to all of the other things Busy had to do professionally and on a personal level, these were the things that led her to thinking of canceling the appointment. But, after talking to her former husband and closest friend, Marc Silverstein, she ultimately agreed to go to the scan.
Busy remembered that Marc had said something like, “‘You could do [van der Beek] a very nice honor. Get that scan.’ Busy had a brain lesion, something that concerned her doctor deeply, who, after examining the MRI results, asked him to get a new follow-up MRI for better viewing of the lesion, if possible. Busy did exactly that. ‘You really can call it a tumor, and the tumor is inside your brain. And Busy, you will have to remove it.” Busy recalls her doctor’s words over the phone.
Busy remembers how scared she was; her breathing was getting more and more erratic, and she was almost like she was not breathing at all.
Busy Had 5-Hour Surgery To Remove 2.6cm Brain Tumor In March
Busy also recalled, remembering the traumatizing reaction of Birdie, who, in panic, said Busy “was kind of beside herself and really, really scared and overwhelmed that she couldn’t understand her emotions at that point. ” Birdie’s teenage mother “didn’t even have a chance to understand why that was happening to you.” “That movie you thought was being played out was that in your senior year of high school, your mother dies. That is the movie that you are not going to have your role in. It’s not your movie. So don’t worry, I’ll not die.”
Busy’s daughter, who is younger, Cricket, on the other hand, showed a very calm attitude. “Cricket was just asking, “Well, if you’re telling me this, is it the case that you’re not going to die, right?” So I replied, “I’m totally going to be fine,” and she just said, “Oh, okay,” said Busy.”
The surgery was performed by surgeons in the first operation on March 2, at which a 2.6-centimeter tumor was removed from her brain in a five-hour procedure and also examined under a microscope to get biopsy results.
The surgeon reportedly told them, “Well, it may be considered malignant, but this is the benign type of malignant glioma, which has the best chance of survival.” The tumor is more defined as a cancerous tumor in terms of the tumor recurrence rate rather than based on the appearance of the microscopic picture of the malignant tumor,” said Busy’s surgeon.
Busy Philipps Urges Women To Trust Their Health Instincts
Busy Philipps recovered quite rapidly, even though she still had swelling on her forehead and over forty surgical staples. She continued, “I wasn’t in any kind of pain.” But still, the second episode scared her greatly when a dermatologist identified a potential issue during a Botox appointment as he glanced at the surgical scar. The doctor urged her, and she went to have a check-up. Busy was diagnosed with a staph infection at the surgical wound, and she was advised to have a debridement operation (removal of dead tissue).
Busy also had to have the tiny titanium pin used in her last surgery to hold the bone in place. Luckily, we found it early, and a deep infection was definitely not the case,” the doctor explained the outcome of the surgery to Busy. All the same, the podcast host got very nervous again about having to undergo a second operation. “I just felt like I was taking a step back to the beginning, and I felt really, really down,” the speaker admitted.
With all these difficulties on top of each other, happy with the scan result, Busy Philipps thinks they found the tumor early and that things worked out. “Am I? The luckiest girl on Earth?” she questioned. The episode has taught Busy not to be reluctant in discussing her medical concerns with others, and now she also wants to give an incentive for people to have regular check-ups, particularly women!
“Doctors often convince the patients there is no reason to fear. And we, on the other hand, feel like we do have cause to be worried,” stated Busy. “There is no need to feel afraid of facts. Knowledge itself is a great source of strength.”
