Busy Philipps is urging women to trust their instincts about their health after an elective full-body MRI uncovered a rare brain tumor even though she had no obvious symptoms. The 47-year-old actress says she did not have a specific medical reason for pursuing the scan, she simply felt strongly that she wanted the information.
Her primary care doctor had told her in 2025 that she did not need one, pointing to her age, overall health and good annual physical results. Philipps went ahead anyway, and the February scan found a mass in her brain that a follow-up MRI confirmed was a tumor, she told PEOPLE.
Philipps underwent surgery on March 2 to remove the 2.6-centimeter mass. A biopsy identified it as a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare, slow-growing malignant brain tumor. She currently does not need chemotherapy or radiation and instead will undergo regular imaging to watch for recurrence, although her recovery was complicated by an infection that required a second operation in April.
Now several months removed from the diagnosis, Philipps is focused on what she hopes other women take from her experience, pay attention to concerns about your own body, ask questions and keep pursuing answers when something continues to trouble you.
‘There’s Nothing to Be Afraid of in Having Information’
Philipps said her experience reinforced her belief that women in particular can find themselves being reassured that nothing is wrong while still feeling that something deserves further attention. “There’s nothing to be afraid of in having information. It’s only empowering,” she told PEOPLE.
She encouraged people who remain concerned about something involving their health to “see things through if you can,” while acknowledging that access to additional testing is not equal. Philipps called her ability to afford the Prenuvo scan an “inherent privilege” and noted that the elective screening is expensive.
Philipps’ experience is an individual case, not a general recommendation that people without symptoms undergo full-body MRI screening. The American College of Radiology says there is insufficient evidence to recommend total-body MRI screening for people without symptoms, relevant risk factors or a family history suggesting underlying disease. The organization also warns that nonspecific findings can lead to unnecessary follow-up testing, procedures and expense.
The Scan Found a Tumor Before She Had Obvious Symptoms
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She had become interested in full-body MRI screening and asked her primary care doctor about getting one in 2025, but said she was told there was “no need” because she was young, healthy and had good results from her annual physical.
She later discussed the idea with Beverly Hills internist Dr. Justin Donlan, her cousin’s husband, whose view that having more information could be useful resonated with her. Philipps eventually scheduled the scan for Feb. 12 after an earlier January appointment was postponed by bad weather.
The timing almost caused her to cancel again. Her former Dawson’s Creek costar James Van Der Beek had died of colorectal cancer the previous day, and Philipps was grieving while also facing work commitments. Her ex-husband Marc Silverstein encouraged her to keep the appointment.
The full-body scan revealed a lesion in her brain, and a subsequent MRI provided a closer look at the mass. Nine also reported that the tumor was discovered before Philipps had developed obvious symptoms such as seizures.
She Needed a Second Surgery After an Infection
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Once doctors determined that the tumor needed to be removed, Philipps underwent an approximately five-hour operation on March 2. Surgeons removed the 2.6-centimeter mass, and pathology identified it as a grade 2 oligodendroglioma.
Her neuro-oncologist told PEOPLE that the tumor is considered malignant but has a comparatively favorable prognosis among malignant gliomas. Philipps’ neurosurgeon also said discovering it before she developed symptoms allowed doctors to remove it while it was still relatively small.
Her initial recovery progressed quickly enough for Philipps to begin working, but a dermatologist noticed several weeks later that her surgical incision did not look right and urged her to contact her medical team. Doctors determined that she had developed a staphylococcus infection at the incision site.
Philipps returned to the hospital on April 27 for debridement surgery to clear the infection and remove one of the small titanium tacks that had been placed during the original procedure. She later said the second operation was emotionally harder than she expected because she had already begun believing the most difficult part of her recovery was behind her.
Philipps eventually recovered from the infection after an extended course of antibiotics. She is not currently undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, but she has said her follow-up plan includes scans every three months for the first two years to monitor for a possible recurrence.
‘My Brain Does Not Feel Broken Anymore’
After Philipps told longtime friend Michelle Williams about the tumor, Williams reminded her of something she had apparently been saying for roughly two years, that her “brain feels broken.”
Philipps said she had used the phrase repeatedly without consciously believing that she had a brain tumor or another specific physical problem. She has also wondered whether unusually intense emotional reactions she experienced before the diagnosis might have been related to the tumor’s location in her frontal lobe.
Philipps said she raised the possibility with her neurosurgeon, who told her they could not know whether those earlier experiences were caused by the tumor. After surgery, she told PEOPLE, “My brain does not feel broken anymore,” a change that has added another layer to her belief that people should pay attention when something about their health persistently feels different.
She Returned to Work on ‘Cupertino’ After Brain Surgery
The diagnosis arrived just as Philipps landed a role she has described as a dream job on the new CBS legal drama Cupertino. She was able to begin filming after recovering from the first operation before the infection temporarily interrupted her progress.
Philipps plays Natalia Boutella, the ex-wife of an AI billionaire who becomes a financial backer of a new Silicon Valley law firm. The series stars Mike Colter and Rachel Keller as attorneys taking on powerful technology interests, with Ella Stiller, Nik Dodani and Renée Elise Goldsberry also in the cast.
Cupertino is scheduled to premiere Thursday, Oct. 8, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The series will also be available through Paramount+, with streaming options depending on a subscriber’s plan.