1 hour ago
2
Busy Philipps revealed she was diagnosed with a rare malignant brain tumor and underwent two brain surgeries during the “weirdest six months of [her] life.”
The “Dawson’s Creek” alum said in her People cover story, published Wednesday, that she is “grateful to be alive.”
The actress’ grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare slow-growing tumor, was discovered during a Prenuvo scan on Feb. 12 — the day after her former co-star James Van Der Beek died of cancer.
Philipps, notably, had been talked out of getting the full-body MRI in 2025 by her primary care doctor but scheduled it anyway following a conversation with her cousin-in-law Dr. Justin Donlan.
The internist told the 47-year-old “knowledge is power,” which “really resonated with” her.
The January appointment, however, was pushed to February — and Philipps considered canceling before her ex-husband, Marc Silverstein, convinced her otherwise.
Want more celebrity and pop culture news?
Start your day with Page Six Daily.
Thanks for signing up!
The “Freaks and Geeks” alum immediately texted Silverstein when a lesion was found on her brain.
She recalled, “The texts to my ex-husband are comical. While I was on the phone with Dr. Donlan, I texted Marc, ‘OMG I have a brain tumor.’ And he wrote back, ‘Busy, what? What are you saying? What are you talking about?’ I was like, ‘It looks fine. It’s probably benign. I don’t know.’”
She underwent another MRI, with a neurologist subsequently telling her, “This is a real tumor, and it’s inside your brain. And Busy, it’s got to come out.”
The confirmation left Philipps “hyperventilating and trying to breathe” — and feeling she had no choice but to tell her two children: Birdie, 18, and Cricket, 13.
Her eldest was “kind of beside herself and really, really scared and overwhelmed with emotion.”
Philipps remembered, “I just kept saying to her, ‘Birdie, you’re just not in the movie where your mom dies your senior year of high school. That’s just not the movie that you’re in. I promise you.’ [Cricket’s] reaction … was like, ‘OK. You’re going to be fine?’ And I was like, ‘I’m totally going to be fine.’ And she’s like, ‘OK.’”
This is a developing story…
Welcome to the Page Six Community!
Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas in a safe space.
In order to do so, we've created a simple set of rules that will improve your experience.
Simply put, keep it civil.
Your post will/might be rejected if it contains:
- Spam
- Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language and threats of any kind
- Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
User accounts will/might be blocked if we notice:
- Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
- Racist, sexist, or homophobic comments
- Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
So, how can you be a power user?
- Stay on topic and share your passion. Feel free to elaborate to get your point across.
- 'Like' or 'Dislike' when you are filled with emotions!
- Protect your community. Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.
Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Don't forget, freedom of speech is not the freedom of reach!
English (US)