'You Face It': Hilary Farr's Vital Advice For Women After Her Breast Cancer Journey

HGTV's Hilary Farr shared some timeless advice for women following the reveal that she hid a years-long breast cancer battle. "Thinking that you should keep it a secret or just power through doesn't help, and it doesn't heal," the "Love It or List It" star told People during a 2021 interview. "If I can change that for one person, then that's enough." She also emphasized the importance of mammograms. "Fear of breast cancer stops a lot of women from getting checked. But as terrifying as it is, you face it," added Farr, who underwent three lumpectomies within three years and radiation treatment in 2015.

The harrowing experience changed the home designer's outlook on life. Farr decided she was ready for new challenges, leading her to resign from co-hosting "Love It or List It" with realtor David Visentin after 19 seasons. Still, she credited Visentin, with whom she had a sibling-like rivalry, for his support during her breast cancer journey. "I was working all the way through cancer, and he was always there," she told People in 2023. "He had his little rough patches, too, here and there, and we were there for each other. Yeah, that's a biggie. I don't know that that's going to change."

In remission, Hilary Farr, who makes transitioning to gray hair look so chic, has adopted a carpe-diem attitude. Like fellow HGTV star Mina Starsiak Hawk, who had a stunning transformation, Farr loves fixing up homes, a passion that continuously steers her personal and professional life. "I'm now very aware of really wanting to take joy out of every day, and that's one of the reasons that it was time to leave 'Love It or List It,' because it was becoming too easy ... I was in a rut," she said in her 2023 People interview. "It's been so many years. You want to feel that every day is something different and special, and grasp for those challenges. That's really what I think drives me, anyway."  

The HGTV host noted that the ups and downs she experienced in her personal life (divorce, cancer, her son's marriage, and becoming a grandparent) while hosting the show inspired her solo series, "Tough Love with Hilary Farr," which highlights her helping families handle life's curveballs. Farr has been through quite a lot, and it's inspiring to see her give focus to the things that really matter in life, rather than superficial trivialities. Though to be clear, her beauty and fashion are at expert level, and she's definitely not one of the HGTV stars we're begging to up their style game.