'Knowledge Is Power': After A Breast Cancer Scare, Katie Stevens Encourages Women To Do 'Life-Saving' Checks On Themselves

Katie Stevens has her role on The Bold Type to thank for almost saving her life.

On Good Morning America, the actress revealed that her character on the dramedy has the BRCA gene, which makes one more susceptible to developing ovarian and breast cancer. Though the diagnosis was fictitious, it caused Stevens to pay more attention to her own health.

"Telling this story, it made me really conscious about checking myself every morning," she explained. "A year and a half ago I did find a lump that I would not have found had I not been checking myself."

"With the support of my friends and my family I immediately went and got it checked out," the brunette babe shared before revealing it was benign.

Despite the fortunate outcome, the scare made the star realize just how important it is to take care of herself.

"I think that it just taught me that even though information like that can be scary, it's better to get the information because knowledge is power," she pointed out. "Knowing that, and checking yourself and being aware of your body and your health, it's life-saving."

When Stevens first discovered the lump in 2019, she made the decision to share her story with fans in hopes of them following her self-care checks.

"I was in a panic, so emotional ... My wedding is soon, I’m in the middle of shooting this season ... I needed clarity," she explained of her reaction. "I made an appointment with a breast specialist immediately, got an ultrasound, and quickly got the results that I had a benign tumor called a fibroadenoma."

"I have to continue to monitor it every 6 months, but women get these all the time, many women in my family have them too," she revealed. "I wanted to share this story because this is SO common for women as we get older, but it doesn’t make it any less alarming or scary."

"We should be having more conversations about this, and the biggest takeaway is: if you have something going on that you think might be a health issue, don’t wait. Get it checked out," she insisted. "It’s scary to find out that something might be wrong, but the quicker you get the information, the quicker you can do something about it, OR (in my case) the quicker you can have peace of mind!"