In a recent interview, Charlie’s Angels star Lucy Liu opened up about a hospital experience early in her career that left a lasting mark on how she views health, information, and self-advocacy.
The 57-year-old actress recalled discovering a lump in her breast back in the 1990s. “I didn’t really think too much about it,” Liu admits. “But it was scary, because at that time, there was less information that was available, because we didn’t have internet.”
Liu shared that her doctor “sort of felt the lump and said it was cancer,” leading her to undergo surgery right away — without further screening like an ultrasound or mammogram. Only later did she find out the mass was not cancerous.
Decades later, Liu says the experience completely reshaped how she approaches her own care. “I think that was the beginning of understanding how to advocate for myself,” she reflects. “Even though my friend had said to get a second opinion, I sort of thought, ‘Well, what’s the point? The doctor knows what they’re talking about,’” Liu says.
Liu’s comeback on screen has been busy too. The actress is set to appear in the highly anticipated The Devil Wears Prada 2, which reunites several of the original cast members nearly two decades after the first film became a pop culture phenomenon. With Liu joining the ensemble, the sequel has generated major buzz online — a testament to her enduring influence across both Hollywood blockbusters and independent cinema.
Today, Liu is using that moment as fuel to empower others. Partnering with Pfizer for the company’s Every Breakthrough Matters campaign, she now encourages people—especially women—to make cancer screening a routine part of life. “It’s not about the fixing, it’s about really understanding what screening is, and about information and advocacy. That’s a really important thing,” she explains.
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Her message is clear and urgent: “Even though there is so much available to us technologically, a lot of people don’t do it because they don’t want to know if something’s wrong or they’re too busy. … [But] as busy as you are, it’s a lifesaving thing, because, oftentimes, it’s caught too late, and at that point, you’re basically scrambling to figure out what your resources are.”
When asked if she had any regrets about the way things unfolded, Liu said she doesn’t dwell on the past. “I never really reflect and regret. I always look at a situation and I grow from it,” she adds. “I think there are too many punishing moments that you can have, and I don’t think it should start from that place.”
Instead, she sees reflection as an opportunity for renewal. “I think it should start from a much more positive place, because you can’t go back in time. So it’s more like, ‘Okay, what can I do differently and what is a better choice for myself and for others?’”
Through her advocacy, Liu hopes to see a shift in how people—particularly women—prioritize preventive care. “I feel like a lot of people have been advocating for themselves more and more, and especially for women’s health in general,” she says.
“I think it is vital, because I don’t want to continue to lose people, and I don’t want people to feel hurt and lost and scared. I want this to be part of their regular regimen: if you can get up every single day and work out, this is something you do just once or twice a year for yourself, and it is really critical.”
