Julia Louis-Dreyfus felt 'immortal' before breast cancer fight

Julia Louis-Dreyfus felt "immortal" before her breast cancer fight.

The Veep actress, 63, was diagnosed with the disease in September 2017, with the news delivered by her doctor who called her to tell her she had stage 2 breast cancer the day after she won her sixth consecutive Emmy award for her role in the HBO political satire.

She told presenter Hoda Kotb, 59, on the Today show as the pair discussed their respective fights with the illness: "I think that when you're younger, there's kind of this arrogance of youth, of feeling like… you do feel immortal.

"And then all of a sudden you're bumped up against that and you're like, 'Oh, wait a minute. This, at some point, is going to end.'

"You don't go through life thinking about that very much. So it puts into sharp focus priorities. It did for me."

The actress added about how the diagnosis changed her perspective on life: "I made more of an attitude shift about what my priorities were and how to sort of go forth."

Julia previously told WSJ Magazine the first thing she did when her doctor told her she had cancer was double over with laughter.

She said: "I mean, it felt like it was written. It felt like it was a horrible black comedy. And then it sort of morphed into crying hysterically.

"You just simply don't consider it for yourself, you know, that's sort of the arrogance of human beings.

"But of course, at some point, we're all going to bite it.

"I find myself living more mindfully. It's not like it's yakking at me all the time, but there's more laser focus."

Julia announced she was cancer-free in October 2018 after a double mastectomy and six rounds of chemotherapy.

Hoda was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and told Julia before she spoke about her fight with the illness: "One of the reasons I've always wanted to talk to you is that many years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and something struck me in that moment.

"I realised for the very first time in my life that my life had a beginning and an end.

"I have never actually visualised it until that diagnosis. It's like the world snapped into focus. I cleared away stuff I didn't want anymore. I held on tightly to the things I did."

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