“I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I hope I’m still here, you know, in a few years,” the actress recalls thinking at the time.

Rita Wilson had 2 requests for husband Tom Hanks after her breast cancer diagnosis

"I don't know what's gonna happen, but I hope I'm still here, you know, in a few years," the actress recalls thinking at the time.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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April 29, 2026 11:47 a.m. ET

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Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. Credit:

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- Rita Wilson is reflecting on her reaction to being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

- The actress, who has since undergone a  double mastectomy, had two requests for her husband Tom Hanks in case she didn't survive the cancer battle.

- Wilson also shares how the diagnosis inspired her 2019 song "Throw Me a Party"

Rita Wilson is looking back on the uncertainty she felt after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

Over a decade ago, the actress and singer underwent a double mastectomy, followed by reconstructive surgery to remove an "invasive" cancer. Though she was subsequently declared cancer-free, there was a period where Wilson feared the worst, prompting her to share two requests with husband Tom Hanks in case she didn't survive.

"I said to Tom, I'm like, 'Okay, if something happens and I go first, I just have two requests," Wilson shared during a Tuesday 92NY event attended by PEOPLE. "One is that you should be sad for a very, very long time."

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.

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Wilson continued, "The second one was, 'Throw me a party. I want it to be a celebration of life. I want it to be about people telling stories and joy and remembering me in that way. And I think people, a lot of people want that, you know? I think there's room for that."

The* Now and Then* actress would later echo this request by penning her 2019 song "Throw Me a Party."

On the track, Wilson sings, "So when I'm gone, throw me a party / You should dance as if I was there / Don't be sad or be broken-hearted / Just send your voices up in the air / Sing my songs and light up the sparklers / Tell my stories and drink all my wine / And know my life is just getting started / When I'm gone."

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Wilson said that the lyrics came out of her gut-reaction to learning she had breast cancer, explaining, "When you get the diagnosis and you're like, 'I don't know, I don't know what's gonna happen, but I hope I'm still here, you know, in a few years.'"

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Wilson, who married Hanks in 1988, was 58 when she got her diagnosis. During a recent chat with The Guardian, the *Sleepless in Seattle *actress shared how the experience gave her a new outlook on life.

Rita Wilson attends the 98th Oscars.

Frazer Harrison/WireImage

"At first it was terrifying. I remember saying goodbye to my body in the mirror before the surgery," Wilson told the outlet. "As much as it was profound and scary, I was so grateful for all the modern medical miracles that were available to me. Now I see my cancer as a gift — an extra lease on life. After that, anything that was not truly important just melted away."

Last year, Wilson celebrated 10 years of being cancer-free and marked the milestone with a candid Instagram video.

“It's a celebration for me," she told followers. "March 31st marks 10 years of being cancer-free. 10 years. And I am so deeply grateful.”

She added, "I'm so thankful to my doctors. To my friends, to my family. The gratitude is overwhelming. Didn't always feel this way. And you know that, anybody who's going through [it, or] who's survived knows that it's an up and down, like, hamster wheel. But then you get to this point... I am thinking of anybody out there who might be going through some difficulties. You're in my thoughts and prayers. Anyways, God bless you all."

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