Drew Barrymore should win a prize for how much time she devotes to spreading awareness about breast cancer on her eponymous daytime talk show.
On this morning’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the beloved actress-turned-host was joined by Drew Crewer Valerie Bertinelli, board-certified OBGYN Dr. Kameelah Phillips and Inside Edition host Alison Paul, who opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis last year.
The four women touched on many topics regarding breast cancer, including the importance of keeping up with preventative care like yearly mammograms.
That’s when Barrymore made a rare mention about the breast reduction surgery she had as a teenager.
“What if someone’s had a reduction, like me?” she asked. “What if someone has had implants or enhancements like a lot of people out there? How does any alteration of our bodies also play into the examination process?”
Phillips told the actress that “imaging is really important,” explaining that unsatisfactory mammograms will often result in doctors urging their patients to get an “ultrasound.”
While Barrymore has never gotten any plastic surgery, she did go under the knife when she was only 17 to reduce the size of her breasts. The star later opened up about her surgery in a 1998 interview with the New York Daily News.
“I really love my body and the way it is right now. There’s something very awkward about women and their breasts because men look at them so much,” she said at the time, per E! News. “When they’re huge, you become very self-conscious. Your back hurts. You find that whatever you wear, you look heavy in. It’s uncomfortable.”
Barrymore, who recently turned 50, told People in a 2023 interview that she would never get any plastic surgery out of fear that she would become addicted to it.
“I have a highly addictive personality, so I worry I’d continue to chase it, get this and that done,” she said. “That scares me, just because of my own approach to things. So, I’m waiting on making any alterations.”
The 50 First Dates star joked that she “[looks] forward to seeing what [she looks] like as a leather bag in the future.”
The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.
