After her cancer misdiagnosis, Lucy Liu advocates for early screening

There was hardly any time between Lucy Liu feeling a lump on her breast and heading into surgery. In her family, Liu says she was taught that doctors always knows best. She scheduled a procedure to remove the lump that same week.

But when her breast cancer scare turned out to be a misdiagnosis, her perception of health care flipped inside out.

"There was not a lot of research done behind it," she tells USA TODAY, reflecting on the experience decades later. "There was not a lot of asking around. Now, I would ask a million questions and I would not be embarrassed about it."

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease, per the Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention, but early detection by mammography screening has contributed to a decline in breast cancer death rates, according to 2025-2026 data from the American Cancer Society.

After discovering her surgery had been unnecessary, Liu says she learned about routine screening and diagnostic tools – ultrasounds, biopsies, mammograms.

"That’s when I really found out how much I didn’t know and how I jumped the gun," she says.  

The breast cancer incidence rate has risen about 1.4% each year from 2012 to 2022 in women under 50. Since 2015, the American Cancer Society has recommended that women with an average risk of breast cancer begin annual screening with mammography at age 45; in 2024, the United States Preventative Services Task Force lowered their recommended age to begin screening from 50 to 40 years. However, nearly half of all women have dense breast tissue, and may require additional screening, such as an ultrasound, to adequately detect cancers. Nearly 100% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer at an early stage are still alive five years later. 

Decades after her own cancer misdiagnosis, Liu is now advocating in partnership with Pfizer for early cancer screenings, an issue that’s also become increasingly important to her as she’s watched friends and family navigate their own cancer journeys.

"Oftentimes people get really busy, but you should prioritize your health," she says. "It's also about showing up for your friend if they do have a diagnosis and then finding out what the options are."

Overcoming the cultural 'stigma' surrounding cancer screenings

Born to Chinese immigrants in Queens, New York, Liu grew up speaking Mandarin at home and didn’t learn English until she was 5 years old. Those language barriers, she says, can deter communities from seeking medical care.

"There's a stigma behind culture sometimes," she says. "They don't think that they need to go in… or they don't have somebody there translating for them."

For Liu, modeling healthy behaviors also plays a crucial role in reaching people across those language or cultural barriers. She hopes that prioritizing her health will teach her son, Rockwell, 10, that going to the doctor doesn’t have to be ominous or complicated. When she takes her mother in for a screening or doctor’s appointment, she makes sure there’s a medical translator available.

"There’s not this mystery behind it," she explains. "I think people (should) talk about it within their own families or support groups or friend groups and encourage each other to do it. Oftentimes there's no communication about it."

The nostalgia boom and 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'

Liu's advocacy for cancer screenings is wedged between a busy schedule filming a new TV series, "Superfakes," and the highly-anticipated release of "The Devil Wears Prada" sequel. Her reflection on her harrowing misdiagnosis comes at a time where nostalgia is booming in the film industry.

As for "The Devil Wears Prada 2," which is set to release 20 years to the day from the original film's premiere, the details of Liu's character are still under wraps.

"(Fans) are going to really enjoy the movie and it's going to be everything and more," she shares. "It's nice to know when you love something that the sequel is going to live up to its name."

Liu starred in "Charlie's Angels" and "Kill Bill" in the 2000s, the latter of which had a theatrical rerelease at the end of 2025.

"There's a lot of nostalgia about those films and it's nice to know that they can exist in the world then and the world now," she reflects.

But when the contrast between this more joyous nostalgia and memories of her misdiagnosis from that same era are pointed out, Liu says she no longer sees her misdiagnosis as a negative experience.

"I learned so much from that at an early age... I didn’t just start advocating for my health then, I started advocating for myself, period," she explains.

From that point on, she "took her life in her own hands."

"I really understood," she says, "not just in the medical field, but in my life, how I can move forward in a positive way."