The 69-year-old actress underwent a double mastectomy. Rita Wilson revealed what she asked Tom Hanks to do when she was considering her possible death.
The Hollywood star gave an interview to her friend Demi Moore at the Sound of a Woman event. She spoke about her experiences during her grueling battle with breast cancer in 2015. At the time, Rita Wilson underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. Due to her illness, she was forced to take a leave of absence from Larry David’s Broadway show, Fish in the Dark.
The actress admitted that she spoke to her husband, Tom Hanks, about the possibility of not being able to cope with the illness. “I was close to death. But I told Tom, ‘Okay, if something happens and I’m the first to go, I have two requests. One is for you to be sad for a very, very long time. The other is, throw me a party. I want it to be a celebration of life. I want people to tell stories, to rejoice, and to remember me in that way.’ I think a lot of people want that, you know? I think there’s room for that,” Rita said.
Wilson explained that her song “Throw Me a Party,” written in 2019, was dedicated to her battle with cancer. “I don’t know what’s next, but I hope I’ll still be here in a few years,” the actress remarked. Last March, Tom Hanks’s partner celebrated 10 years of remission. She expressed gratitude to those who helped her through the crisis.
“I’m so grateful to my doctors, friends, and family. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. I haven’t always felt this way. Cancer patients and those who’ve overcome it understand that it’s like a hamster wheel, where you go up and down, but eventually you hit rock bottom,” wrote the Runaway Bride star.
During her illness, Hanks took on the role of his wife’s advocate. He fiercely condemned the unscrupulous doctors who tried to profit from her. In an interview, the two-time Oscar winner noted that there are dedicated, professional doctors, and then there are charlatans who try to profit from people with cancer and other serious illnesses, People reports .
Rita and Tom met on the set of the TV series “Bosom Buddies” in 1981. In 1985, they reunited on the set of “Volunteers.” The couple married in 1988, and have been inseparable for nearly four decades . The Green Mile actor previously revealed that he and his wife are not only partners and lovers, but also best friends. The couple have two sons: 35-year-old Chester and 30-year-old Truman. Hanks also has two children with his first wife, Samantha Lewis: 48-year-old Colin and 43-year-old Elizabeth.
