Rachel Zegler recalls breast cancer scare

"West Side Story" star Rachel Zegler is urging regular self-screening for breast cancer after revealing a cancer scare she endured in 2020.

"Two years ago I found a lump in my breast and went through what was undoubtedly the scariest week of my life," the actor, 21, wrote Saturday on Instagram Stories, where posts cycle out after 24 hours but which was screen grabbed by multiple websites including that of E! News.

The post appeared in graphical text on a black-and-white, mirror-selfie image from two years ago showing the actor's biopsy scar surrounded by surgical tape. In the post, Zegler explained that, "No OB/GYN was taking new patients due to the backlog of the pandemic, but I was fortunate to have the care of my pediatrician who prescribed me an ultrasound, which led to an out-patient biopsy procedure."

She added, "Thankfully it was benign. And now the scar," she wrote, placing an asterisk at end of the word, with a matching one in the photo near the scar, "serves as a reminder to check my breasts regularly for any irregular growth — the fibroadenoma in my left breast is a common occurrence but nevertheless extremely scary to find."

Zegler concluded, "Early detection saves lives!!! Check your [breasts]."

The New Jersey-raised Zegler, who won a Golden Globe Award for best actress in a motion picture musical/comedy for her screen debut in Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake of "West Side Story," is slated to star in next year's "Shazam!" sequel "Shazam! Fury of the Gods." She has been filming the "Hunger Games" prequel "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," also scheduled for 2023, and has completed work on "Disney's Snow White," a live-action remake of the 1937 animated classic. In the latter film, set for release in 2024, Zegler plays the title role opposite Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.

Before her meteoric rise, and while still a high school student, Zegler had gone public about another health issue, tweeting on June 8, 2018, "Hello. My name is Rachel. I suffer from anxiety and depression, and occasionally feel depersonalized/disassociated from reality. I am a work in progress. I am finding the common ground between me and my mind. And that's enough. But please, ask if I'm okay. #EndTheStigma."