Amanda Peet wrote a vulnerable essay for The New Yorker published on March 21 where she shared that she was diagnosed with breast cancer while both of her parents were in hospice care on opposite coasts.
The Gist
Peet received her diagnosis around Labor Day last year.
In a subsequent interview with E! News, the actress shared the hardest part of telling her three kids about her news.
After hearing the devastating news thatshe had been diagnosed with breast cancer—while both of her parents were in hospice care, no less—Amanda Peetwas then faced with the challenge of having to tell her kids.
The actress is mom to three children—19-year-old Frances, 15-year-old Molly, and 11-year-old Henry, whom she shares with husband David Benioff. Speaking toE! Newson March 24, Peet shared that her therapist encouraged her to be open with her kids about the diagnosis, but that, naturally, it wasn't easy.
Peet said the hardest part of telling her kids "was realizing that nothing is certain and there was going to be no perfect time to tell them."
"They've been great," she added. "I definitely had to get myself together before including them."
Peet's comments came three days after the March 21 publication of an essay inThe New Yorkerwhere she announced her diagnosis. The news came around Labor Day in 2025, when her parents were in hospice care on separate coasts. Since then, both her father and her mother have passed away.
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Her doctor "told me that she didn't like the way something looked on the ultrasound and wanted to perform a biopsy," Peet wrote. "After the procedure, she said that she would walk the sample over to Cedars-Sinai and hand deliver it to Pathology. That's when I knew."
A "small" tumor was found in her breast, and after an MRI was done to "determine the extent of the disease," she learned that her breast cancer was HER2-negative. After finding out that her tumors were benign, Peet and her husband decided it was the right time to tell their daughters Frances and Molly.
"My therapist said that I didn't have to appear strong or unfazed or have definitive answers," Peet said. "She said that I'd be surprised by how much children can step up, and that calling for all hands on deck can make them feel useful."
"Molly cried, and Frankie—FaceTiming from her college quad—clapped her hand over her mouth and kept it there until she was able to process the excellent portion of the news: that it appeared I was stage I and wasn't going to need chemo."
Peet wrote in her vulnerable piece forThe New Yorkerthat she received a clear scan in early 2026.
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