Jill Goodacre's life changed forever five years ago when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
According to People, the wife of multi-platinum recording artist Harry Connick Jr. learned of her diagnosis during an annual mammogram. She said that because her breasts are dense, she was ordered by doctors to have a sonogram. After the sonogram, doctors noticed something and ordered a biopsy. She was later diagnosed with stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma and underwent a lumpectomy, followed by radiation.
"I was scared I was going to lose her, absolutely," Connick Jr. said, according to E! News. "I wasn't going to let her see that, but I was. I know from losing my mom that the worst can happen. She's my best friend, and I really don't know what I would do without her."
Connick Jr.’s mother died of ovarian cancer when he was 13.
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Since the lumpectomy and radiation treatments, Goodacre has been on Tamoxifen, an estrogen modulator pill that helps prevent the development of hormone receptor-positive breast cancers.
As she approaches the five-year mark, Goodacre said she is looking forward to stopping the Tamoxifen, which has a side effect of weight gain and is something the former Victoria's Secret model struggled with.
She is also looking forward to opening up about her journey, something she has kept secret for years.
“It wasn’t like we were superstitious, like if we said something about being in the clear we’d somehow jinx it,” she said. “But we wanted to be well on the other side of things before we told everybody. The doctors all say that after the five-year mark, things look optimistic, so we’re starting to feel pretty good.”
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