“So far, she has been doing really well with the treatments and is feeling pretty good,” a source tells PEOPLE of Jane Fonda, who revealed earlier this month that she’s been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Jane Fonda isn’t letting cancer hold her back.
Last Thursday, the two-time Oscar-winning actress announced the news that she has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which she called a “very treatable” cancer. And while she has already started chemotherapy, a source tells PEOPLE exclusively that Fonda still has a packed schedule — keeping up with her climate activism work, her PAC and “gearing up for the release of several films.”
“In true Jane fashion, this is hardly slowing her down,” the insider says. “So far, she has been doing really well with the treatments and is feeling pretty good.”
The source adds that Fonda, 84, is currently looking forward to her upcoming film Moving On’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, one of three movies the actress has set to release or currently in post-production.
“While she can’t attend, it’s a film she’s really proud of and she is looking forward to audiences finally seeing it,” notes the insider.
On Tuesday, Fonda herself took to her blog to share that she has “been deeply moved and uplifted by all the expressions of love and support” since she made her diagnosis public, noting that it was about three weeks after she started her first round of chemotherapy.
“I want to say again that this is a very treatable cancer and much progress has been made with the medicines patients are given,” Fonda wrote.
“Since last week, so many people have written to me or posted that they have had this type of cancer and have been cancer-free for many decades,” she added. “Well, I’ll soon be 85 so I won’t have to worry about ‘many decades.’ One will do just fine.”
Fonda wrote that she currently feels “stronger than I have in years” and is fighting back against fatigue caused by chemotherapy by working out and walking in the early morning before it grows too hot in Los Angeles during its recent heat wave.
“This is not my first encounter with cancer. I’ve had breast cancers and had a mastectomy and come through very well and I will do so again,” Fonda wrote Tuesday.
“As I said in my statement last week, I am painfully aware that the top-drawer treatment I receive is not something everyone in this country can count on and I consider that a travesty,” she added. “It isn’t fair, and I will continue to fight for quality health care for all.”
As Fonda continues her work with her climate action PAC ahead of November’s midterm elections, the actress tied her own diagnosis to a larger cause.
“While most of us know that fossil fuels are the primary cause of the climate crisis, many may not know that fossil fuel emissions also cause cancer as well as other major health problems like birth defects, childhood leukemia, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and preterm birth,” she wrote.
“We have it within our power to change this and I intend to do everything in my power to do so,” Fonda added. “This cancer will not deter me.”
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