"The second you ring the bell, I expected this catharsis," she said of the moment that marked her final radiation session. "And I wasn't experiencing it."to let it be known she was still struggling beneath her generally cheery exterior.
"I've been feeling it since January, since I started my endocrine therapy," Clea, who underwent a double mastectomy in April 2022, explained to E! about the motivation behind the post. "There are a whole host of new side effects, new mental gymnastics that you have to do. I actually get my monthly infusions in the same chair that I received chemo.
People "think that you're healthy again, that you're back to normal," she continued. "And I don't think I'll ever be back to normal, to be honest. Nor do I even want to be. This has changed my life in huge ways and this will always be a part of who I am." Subsequently, Clea wanted speak up "because, number one, I want people to feel like they have a friend in this, if they're going through the same thing—and from the comments on that post, it seems like so many people are. And I also want people to know, who aren't going through it, how to take care of their friends who are experiencing something similar."
While Joanna was quick to declare Clea "superhuman on all fronts," the 44-year-old mom of two acknowledged that she was touched by what her friend was going through every step of the way."She's an extension of me," Joanna said. "I mean, it's beyond a friend. I just feel her. I can't be in her body, obviously, but I feel her pain on such a deep level, it's different than just a regular person in your life.