The Office Star Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

As one of the most recognizable stars from The Office, Fischer often makes references to her time on the show, posting memes on her social media and telling hilarious behind-the-scenes stories as the host of the Office Ladies podcast.

In her cancer diagnosis announcement, Fischer noted her October 2023 Instagram post that featured her posing for a selfie while awaiting her routine monogram. “Reminder to schedule your mammogram. Got mine done today. Gotta take care of those ticking time bags ladies,” Fischer wrote in her post, referencing a Michael Scott joke from an episode of The Office.

However, Fischer revealed that due to dense breast tissue, she received inconclusive results from that October 2023 mammogram, causing some concern. After her doctor ordered a breast ultrasound, a mass was discovered in her left breast, which was later revealed to be stage 1 triple positive breast cancer in December 2023.

The National Cancer Institute describes triple positive breast cancer as a type of breast cancer in which the tumor cells have estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and a larger than normal number of HER2 receptors on their surface.

According to Fischer, The Office star’s medical team wasted little time in combating the disease, performing a lumpectomy in January 2024 to remove the tumor. While Fischer notes that she was lucky that her cancer was caught early and hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes or anywhere else in her body, she was not out of the woods quite yet due to the “aggressive nature” of stage 1 triple positive breast cancer.

In February 2024, Fischer began a 12-week round of chemotherapy to help minimize the risk of the cancer returning, which was then followed up by an additional three weeks of radiation therapy in June. Fischer revealed that due to the chemotherapy, she had experienced hair loss, resulting in The Office star turning to an assortment of wigs and even hats with hair, which she jokingly referred to as “Wigats.” However, after undergoing months of treatment, Fischer says that she is “ready to ditch the wigs” and help spread awareness of breast cancer, encouraging annual mammograms.

While she may always be best known as Pam from The Office, Fischer has made it clear that she is ready to take on the new role of being a vocal breast cancer awareness advocate and an adamant supporter for those currently undergoing treatment.

In a recent report from data collected by the CDC, over 272,000 women were diagnosed with some form of breast cancer in 2021, with 42,211 women dying from the disease in 2022. With a 91 percent survival rate within five years of a diagnosis, breast cancer is more easily treated the earlier it is detected through methods such as mammograms.