Rachel Zegler opens up about breast cancer scare

Actor says experience was “scariest week” of her life

Rachel Zegler has opened up about her breast cancer scare two years ago in a bid to raise awareness of the disease.

The West Side Story star said she found a small lump in one of her breasts during the height of the pandemic.

Zegler shared the experience in a post to her Instagram story on Saturday (24 September), describing it “the scariest week” of her life.

“Two years ago, I found a lump in my breast and went through what was undoubtedly the scariest week of my life,” Zegler said.

“No OB/GYN was taking new patients due to the backlog of the pandemic, but I was fortunate to have the care of my pediatrician who prescribed me and ultrasound, which led to an out-patient biopsy procedure.”

Following tests, Zegler said she was thankful to learn that the lump was a fibroadenoma, a non-cancerous solid lump of tissue.

“Now the scar serves as a reminder to check my breasts regularly for any irregular growth - the fibroadenoma in my left breast is a common occurrence but nevertheless extremely scary to find,” Zegler added.

“Early detection saves lives!!! Check your titty meat,” she added.

In the UK, there are around 56,000 new causes of breast cancer diagnosed every year, the equivalent of around 150 new cases every day.

Zegler’s post (Rachel Zegler/Instagram)

Earlier this month, a study found that exercising regularly and sitting down less could cut the chances of developing breast cancer.

The research, which looked at data from more than 130,000 women, was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It found that greater levels of physical activity and less sedentary time could reduce risk across all breast cancer subtypes.

Exercising regularly was found to be associated with a 40 per cent lower risk of breast cancer, which vigorous activity (three or more days a week) was associated with a reduced risk of pre or perimenopausal breast cancer.

Dr Kotryna Temcinaite, senior research communications manager at Breast Cancer Now, commented: “By looking at people who may be genetically predisposed to having different physical activity levels, this innovative study further strengthens existing evidence of the importance of reducing the time we spend sitting and increasing the amount of time we spend moving to lower breast cancer risk.

“This research highlights how vital it is that we support people to start making small, healthy lifestyle changes that can positively impact their health and help lower their risk of breast cancer.”