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Julia Louis-Dreyfus talks breast cancer: 'I'm very happy to be alive'

The comedy legend admits she wondered whether getting diagnosed with breast cancer was a death sentence.
/ Source: TODAY

Julia Louis-Dreyfus knows breast cancer could’ve beaten her, but she’s grateful it didn’t.

“I hate to have to think about it,” the 11-time Emmy winner told Vanity Fair. “But I’m very happy to be alive.”

The actress, who revealed she had breast cancer in September 2017, said the diagnosis made her evaluate her own mortality.

“There is that moment that you have when you’re like, ‘Is this it for me?’” she said. “Because you know everybody here in this room is going to come across that moment in their life, but you never think you will.”

The former “Seinfeld” star, 58, said she carries the experience of having breast cancer with her to this day.

“I’m glad I got through it, but there’s a part of me that’s still a little frightened, you know?” she said.

Louis-Dreyfus received an outpouring of support after she went public with the news and has been amazed at how many people rallied to her side.

“In many ways, it was very nice to get the support from the outside world,” she said. “Having said that, I didn’t consider that it would’ve taken on a life of its own, which it did. It’s such a personal thing that I never would have put anything like that out there if I hadn’t had to.”

Production on her HBO series “Veep” was postponed while Louis-Dreyfus, who's now up for another Emmy for her work on the series, underwent treatment. She said returning to the Emmy-winning series less than seven months after she finished treatment was important.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus on "Veep."
Louis-Dreyfus was thrilled to return to "Veep" and focus on something other than her health.HBO

“It was wonderful to go back because, frankly, it was a distraction from the prior year, which had been so harrowing,” she said. “To put blinders on and just focus on making the funniest f------ show possible was a great relief."