Regina Hall says her approach to health changed after seeing how many people close to her were affected by breast cancer.
The 55-year-old actress revealed in a recent interview that both family members and friends have faced the disease, and many were able to “thrive” for a long time from early detection.
“They’ve had such incredible roads to recovery,” she told People. “I don’t know if it would’ve been the same had they been further along.”
She said their recovery journeys showed her how important routine screenings and regular check-ups were. Hall also stressed people’s tendency to delay medical appointments due to busy schedules.
“People’s lives get busy, and it’s very easy to put something off and say, ‘Oh, I’ll do that next week.’ And the next week turns into next month, the next month turns into three months,” she noted, adding that she puts reminders on her calendar. “So I think making sure we do that while we’re thinking of it. It’s like a clock, it’s a part of our schedule and something we do for ourselves.”
The Scary Movie actress has partnered with Novartis on its “Your Attention, Please” campaign, which encourages women to understand their risk and prioritise early detection. As part of the initiative, she compared scheduling a mammogram to everyday routines to make it feel more manageable.
Hall also stressed the need for awareness and self-advocacy, especially as breast cancer affects Black women more.
“We know our bodies, we know when something doesn’t feel right,” she adds. “It’s important to make sure that when we feel something, that we literally go to our doctors and we advocate, and we get as much information.”
She added that open conversations can normalise breast health discussions, detailing how her friends casually encouraged her to stay consistent with screenings.
“I’ll be talking to friends who’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s time for me to get my mammogram.’ And that makes me say, ‘Oh, you know what? It’s time for me to get mine as well.’”
