The Navy’s highest-ranking admiral and first woman to lead a U.S. military service said she is in good health after undergoing treatment for Stage 1 breast cancer, the Navy announced on Friday.
Doctors treating Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said she is now “cancer free” after completing radiation therapy in August, according to the Navy.
Franchetti, 60, is being treated at the John P. Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a Navy news release says. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in June after a routine mammogram screening and she underwent outpatient surgery in July, during which she temporarily transferred her authorities to Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby.
She has since completed radiation therapy and began maintenance endocrine therapy this month.
“I am grateful for my wonderful team of doctors at John P. Murtha Cancer Center for their excellent care and their development of a treatment plan that allows me to continue leading the world’s greatest Navy,” Franchetti said in a statement. “I am blessed that this was detected early and will forever be an advocate for early and routine screening.”
Franchetti was in New London, Connecticut this week to award the crew of the USS Indiana the service’s first-ever Arctic Service Medals. Franchetti also released her strategic guidance to the Navy on Wednesday, which calls for the service to be ready for a possible war with China by 2027.
Breast cancer affects 1 out of 8 women in the United States, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. The disease is the second leading cause of death of American women behind lung cancer. Breast cancer death rates declined 43% between 1989 and 2020, in part due to better screening and early detection efforts as well as improved treatments options.
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“The chance that a woman will die from breast cancer is 1 in 39, or about 2.5%,” according to the foundation. “Women who receive regular screenings for breast cancer have a 26% lower breast cancer death rate than women who do not receive screenings.”
Franchetti is the first woman to serve as the Navy’s top admiral, and she is also the first woman to become permanent member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She was confirmed as CNO in November after Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) prevented the Senate from voting on senior officer promotions en masse.
She is the third senior defense official to deal with a serious health issue within the past year. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith suffered a heart attack while running in October 2023 and spent several months recovering before resuming his full duties in March.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was rushed to the hospital in January due to complications from prostate cancer surgery shortly before Christmas. The Pentagon did not announce that Austin had been hospitalized until four days later.
Austin later apologies for not publicly disclosing his hospital stay earlier, and he explained that his initial instinct was to keep his cancer diagnosis private.
“We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right,” Austin told reporters at a Feb. 1 Pentagon news conference. “I should have told the President about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. And I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”
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