Busy Philipps revealed that her latest scan was “clean,” nearly eight months after she was diagnosed with a rare malignant brain tumor.
Speaking with People at the New York City premiere of her new CBS legal drama “Cupertino” Wednesday, Philipps said she had spoken with her oncologist earlier that day — and joked that the doctor was more interested in talking about the show than her health.
“She was like, ‘[I] really just wanted to talk about ‘Cupertino.’ I’m not even kidding you,’” the “Freaks and Geeks” actress, 47, told the outlet. “She’s like, ‘Your scan was clean, so when’s the show come out? Is it this week or next week?’”
“I was like, ‘The premiere is tonight.’ She’s like, ‘Amazing,’” she added. “Anyway, so yeah, she’s been on the whole journey with me.”
Philipps also shared that she learned she had the tumor on the same day she was cast in “Cupertino.”
“I said to my doctors, ‘I was just cast in this television show. How can I do this?’” she recalled.
“My doctor was just very confident and said, ‘You’ll have the surgery in a week from today, and then you’ll be able to be on set in four weeks.’ And I was.”
The “Dawson’s Creek” actress said she has been touched by the response to her decision to share her health journey publicly.
“So many people have come up to me in public and just expressed that they’re grateful for me sharing what I’ve gone through,” she said. “And also just the message of, like, listen to your body, women.
“If you get a no from a doctor, continue to seek care for yourself if you just feel something’s off.”
“I’m grateful for that. I’ve been overwhelmed with love and support, and it’s been very nice. I mean, what? Are people going to be mean?” she joked.
Philipps first shared details of her health journey in August, when she revealed that she had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and undergone two surgeries earlier this year.
She called the experience the “weirdest six months of [her] life,” adding that she was “grateful that [she’s] alive” and “the luckiest girl in the world.”
Her Grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare, slow-growing type of brain tumor, was discovered during a full-body Prenuvo MRI on Feb. 12 — one day after the death of her former “Dawson’s Creek” co-star, James Van Der Beek, from colorectal cancer.
The “ER” actress underwent another MRI following the initial scan, after which her neurologist told her, “This is a real tumor, and it’s inside your brain. And Busy, it’s got to come out.”
The 2.6-centimeter mass was removed during a five-hour surgery on March 2.
She later developed a staphylococcus infection at the surgical incision and needed a second procedure to clear the infection.
“I just felt like I was back to square one,” she said. “I was really, really upset.”
Philipps also gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at her recovery, sharing photos and videos from her brain surgery journey on Instagram Stories.
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