My Story : Stars Who've Faced Breast Cancer

From Angelina Jolie going public about her double mastectomy to Melissa Etheridge's memorable return to the stage, see the women who've shared their survivor stories.

                                      CYNTHIA NIXON
Age at diagnosis: 40
Six years before the Sex and the City alum shaved her head to portray a cancer patient in Broadway's 2012 production of Wit, Nixon was diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine mammogram, which she revealed 18 months later when she became an official ambassador for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. "I felt scared," the mother of three told ABC at the time. "And I thought, 'Oh, I don't want this to be happening.' I was very cognizant of if it's going to happen, this is the best way for it to happen – that it's found so early, and we can just get right on it."

                                     MAURA TIERNEY
Age at diagnosis: 44
"I remember thinking, 'I'm so young. This can't be happening,'" Tierney told People in July 2012, about three years after finding out she had breast cancer in 2009. The diagnosis meant she had to drop out of the NBC show Parenthood, but ultimately, it allowed her to focus on what's important. "I think I always kind of lived in the moment," she said. "But I spend a lot more time with my family now – that's one solid difference

                                    SUZANNE SOMERS
Age at diagnosis: 54
After revealing on Larry King Live in 2001 that she was battling breast cancer (without chemotherapy), Somers was inspired to put pen to paper in her 2010 book Knockout, in which she explores alternative treatment methods. "Saying the words publicly out loud – 'I have cancer' – rocked my soul," she recalled to PEOPLE of her public announcement.

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
Age at diagnosis: 44
Following a 1992 cancer diagnosis in her right breast, the Grease star underwent a modified radical mastectomy and a year of chemotherapy, employing herbs, acupuncture and mental imaging to cope with the nausea. "I visualized [the chemicals] as gold liquid going into my body, healing me, rather than what it really is, which is poison," she she told people in 2000. "So, okay, I didn't die. I was stronger than I thought." Since then, the breast cancer advocate released a 2005 album, Stronger than Before, dedicated to "going through difficulty and getting through it," she revealed on Good Morning America at the time.

                                          EDIE FALCO
Age at diagnosis: 39
The ultra-private star only informed family, a few close friends and her bosses at HBO when she was diagnosed with an aggressive strain of breast cancer in 2003. "I don't respond well to the sympathy thing," she told People in 2009, explaining that she filmed The Sopranos around her chemo appointments and donned an identical wig on the show. "We were shooting crazy hours, so I still looked better than everybody else," she joked.

                                          HODA KOTB
Age at diagnosis:
42
After discovering a lump in her breast, the Today anchor underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery in March 2007, which she now credits with helping her better her life. "Staring down the scariest thing that could have happened to me gave me the strength to take on new challenges," she said in 2008 on Today, which provided a platform to document her cancer battle. "When I got back to work, one of the first things I did was walk into my bosses' offices ... to tell them I wanted to be Today's fourth-hour cohost. Before cancer, I don't think I had the confidence to fight for the position, but now here I am, living my dream job with Kathie Lee every morning."