Amanda Peet, 54, provided an optimistic health update during her recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, just days after publicly disclosing her Stage 1 breast cancer diagnosis.
Recent Health Update
Responding to a fan question about her well-being post-diagnosis, Peet stated, ‘I’m doing great.’ She shared the best advice received: ‘Enjoy it while we’re here.’ Host Andy Cohen agreed, noting, ‘That is something to live by every day.’
Diagnosis Journey
Peet detailed her experience in an essay published in The New Yorker on March 21. She discovered the early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive (HR+), HER2-negative tumor during a routine scan shortly before Labor Day last year.
For years, medical professionals had noted her ‘dense’ and ‘busy’ breasts, requiring biannual checkups. During that visit, her doctor spotted an irregularity on the ultrasound and ordered a biopsy.
‘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,’ Peet recalled. The next day, confirmation arrived: a small tumor necessitating an MRI to assess its extent.
Further scans checked her lymph nodes and the opposite breast. Peet reflected, ‘Cancer diagnoses come in a slow drip,’ and noted feeling happier initially post-diagnosis before anxiety returned ahead of the MRI.
Family Context During Diagnosis
At the time, both of Peet’s divorced parents were in hospice care on opposite coasts. Her father passed away shortly after entering hospice; she arrived after his death but viewed his body.
Returning to her mother in Los Angeles, in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease, Peet chose not to disclose her diagnosis or her father’s passing. Sitting bedside, she described a wordless moment: ‘I said “howdy doodle” – that’s how she often greeted me… Time was running out, and, besides, I had already told her everything.’
Children’s Reaction
In a recent interview, Peet discussed her three children—Frances, 19, Molly, 16, and Henry, 11, shared with husband David Benioff, whom she married in 2006. ‘They’ve been great,’ she said. ‘I definitely had to get myself together before including them. The hard part was realizing that nothing is certain and there was going to be no perfect time to tell them.’
Ongoing Career
Peet continues her prolific career, currently starring as Mel Cooper in the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, with Season 2 premiering April 3. Her film credits include Something’s Gotta Give (2003), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), and She’s the One (1996). Television roles span Seinfeld, How I Met Your Mother, The Good Wife, and Fatal Attraction.
