What Kathy Bates's Story Can Help Us Understand About Ovarian and Breast Cancer

What she has said publicly

Speaking on The Kelly Clarkson Show in December 2019, Kathy Bates confirmed that she had ovarian cancer in 2003 and breast cancer in 2012, and that the second diagnosis led to a double mastectomy. TODAY reported the interview.

In the same conversation she made a point of saying she had tested negative for BRCA gene changes. Her words: "I tested negative and so, ain't a get out of jail free card."

She also described developing lymphedema after that surgery, and has become national spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network.

That is the record. She has not made public a stage, a subtype, or any detail of her care beyond this, and we do not fill those gaps.

Two cancers, not one that traveled

The single most common misreading of a story like this is that the first cancer came back somewhere else. That is not what happened here, and the difference matters clinically.

When ovarian cancer spreads to the breast, the cells under the microscope are still ovarian cells. It is treated as ovarian cancer. A separate breast cancer years later is a new disease, with its own biology and its own treatment plan. Doctors call that a second primary cancer.

People can and do develop more than one cancer in a lifetime. Shared risk factors, earlier treatment, inherited genetics, and simple chance all contribute.

Why ovarian cancer is so often found late

NCI groups three cancers together: ovarian epithelial, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal. They arise in similar tissue and are treated the same way. NCI notes they are often advanced by the time they are found.

The SEER registry shows what that looks like in numbers. Only about 22% of ovarian cancers are caught while still confined to the ovary. Roughly 54% are already distant — spread beyond the pelvis — at diagnosis.

Survival tracks that closely. Five-year relative survival is 91.9% for localized disease, 70.1% for regional, and 31.5% for distant. The overall figure was 52.0% for cases diagnosed between 2016 and 2022. These are group averages across every age and subtype. They cannot describe any one person.

Late detection has a simple cause. Early symptoms are vague and common: bloating, feeling full quickly, pelvic pressure, needing to urinate often. And there is no recommended screening test for women at average risk.

Testing negative for BRCA is not an all-clear

Bates's remark about BRCA is the most quietly useful thing she said, and NCI backs it up.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes that normally help repair damaged DNA. Harmful changes in them raise the risk of breast and ovarian cancer substantially. But most breast and ovarian cancers occur in people with no such inherited change at all.

So a negative BRCA result does not mean a person will not develop these cancers. It also does not remove the value of paying attention to symptoms, or of discussing family history with a clinician. Other genes, including PALB2, and the panel tests that cover them, may be relevant for some families. Our page on genetic testing for cancer risk explains who is usually offered it.

Lymphedema, and why she talks about it

Lymphedema is swelling caused by lymph fluid collecting between skin and muscle. NCI explains that cancer or its treatment can block the flow of that fluid — a tumor pressing on it, surgery interrupting it, or radiation leaving scar tissue behind.

Breast cancer surgery often removes one or more lymph nodes from the armpit, which is why lymphedema in the hand, arm, or chest is a recognized risk afterward. It can begin soon after treatment or years later, and it usually builds slowly over months.

Two facts from NCI shape how it is handled. It is a long-term condition that cannot be cured. Treatment does relieve swelling and restore day-to-day function. And it is easier to control when treatment starts early.

Bates told Clarkson that lymphedema is often missed. She described being told her leg swelling was a weight problem. She put the number affected in the United States at around 10 million, a figure from the network she represents. Our page on lymphedema covers management in more detail.

When to call about swelling

After any surgery or radiation involving lymph nodes, contact your team — do not wait for a scheduled appointment — if you notice:

• Heaviness, tightness, or aching in an arm or leg on the treated side.
• Rings, watches, sleeves, or shoes becoming tight when your weight has not changed.
• Skin that feels firm or thickened, or a dent that stays after you press it.
• Reduced movement in a wrist, elbow, ankle, or shoulder.
• Redness, warmth, or fever in a swollen limb, which can mean infection and needs same-day attention.

For possible ovarian cancer, the usual advice is different: bloating, early fullness, pelvic pain, or urinary urgency that happen most days for more than two to three weeks deserve an appointment, not a wait.

What this story cannot tell you

• No stage, grade, or subtype was disclosed for either of Bates's cancers, so no published survival figure applies to her.
• Two diagnoses in one lifetime is not a pattern anyone should expect. It is one person's history.
• A negative BRCA result explains nothing about why either cancer occurred. In most cases no cause is ever identified.
• Lymphedema risk varies with how many nodes were removed and whether radiation was used. It is not inevitable after breast surgery.
• We do not report on anyone's current health, and nothing here describes her medical situation today.

Life after treatment has its own shape and its own questions. Our survivorship guide covers the follow-up side of it.

Sources

• TODAY, "Kathy Bates opens up about double mastectomy and the painful condition that followed," December 14, 2019: https://www.today.com/health/kathy-bates-talks-lymphedema-double-mastectomy-t170027
• National Cancer Institute, Lymphedema and Cancer (PDQ): https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/lymphedema/lymphedema-pdq
• National Cancer Institute, BRCA Gene Changes: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet
• National Cancer Institute, Treatment of Ovarian Epithelial, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancers (PDQ), patient version: https://www.cancer.gov/types/ovarian/patient/ovarian-epithelial-treatment-pdq
• SEER Cancer Stat Facts, Ovarian Cancer: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/ovary.html

How this page was made

An AI-assisted editorial system helped prepare this page. No named medical reviewer has reviewed it unless one is listed.

The National Cancer Information Foundation publishes Cancer Explained. It is not a diagnostic service, does not recommend treatments, and is not for emergencies.

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