‘1 in 8 women get breast cancer – today I’m the one’

Julia Louis-Dreyfus opens up about her breast cancer diagnosis

Julia Louis-Dreyfus announced this week that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, taking to her social media platforms to inform her followers.

‘1 in 8 women get breast cancer’, the award-winning Veep actress posted to Twitter on Thursday. ’Today I’m the one.’

The 56-year-old is known to speak her mind, which she did once more on Thursday, using her announcement to speak out for others and highlight the importance of healthcare for all.

‘The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union,’ she explained in her post. ‘The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let’s fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality.’

The actress is said to have found out the news the day after the 2017 Emmy awards, seeing her win the gong for outstanding lead actress, but she only chose to announce her diagnosis this week.

Since announcing the news, high profile figures have been sending their love and support, from Sarah Silverman, Debra Messing and Christina Applegate to former vice-president Joe Biden.

'We Veeps stick together. Jill and I, and all of the Bidens, are with you, Julia,' tweeted the 74-year-old, with a photo of the two of them from their White House Correspondents' Dinner video clip.

HBO also released a statement about the actress, stating: 'Our love and support go out to Julia and her family at this time. We have every confidence she will get through this with her usual tenacity and undaunted spirit, and look forward to her return to health and to HBO for the final season of Veep.'

Hillary Clinton also took to Twitter to send her support, posting a touching message. 'Julia, you're in our thoughts and our hearts,' the post read. 'Inspired but not surprised to see you using your platform for good in this difficult time.'

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.