How I Met Your Mother actress Cobie Smulders revealed publicly for the first time that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 25. in the May issue of Women’s Health.
“I had tumors on both ovaries and the cancer had spread into my lymph nodes and surrounding tissues,” the actress, who can be seen in The Avengers: Age of Ultron next month, says in an interview with Women’s Health.
Diagnosed during the third season of the hit CBS sitcom, Smulders, 33, says she had multiple surgeries across two years instead of chemotherapy and radiation because of the location of the cancerous tissue on her body. And even though doctors said she wouldn’t be able to naturally conceive, Smulders did become pregnant with daughter Shaelyn, now 5, and welcomed another son with husband and Saturday Night Live star Taran Killam earlier this year.
“I don’t think I’ll ever feel like I’m cancer-free,” Smulders says. “Now that I’m five years out, I’m trying to think of it as a positive thing and what can I learn from it. And if I can create more awareness, I’ll do it.”
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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com