Katherine LaNasa’s career was rocked by a major health scare almost a year before she scored her critically acclaimed role of Nurse Dana in The Pitt.
While a cancer diagnosis might have demotivated most, the actress instead took it as an opportunity to make her Emmy-winning performance more believable.
In an interview, the 59-year-old actress discussed her cancer diagnosis and her experience with the illness and revealed how it shaped her role in the hit series. She not only appreciated the nurses who helped in her recovery journey but also modeled her performance after them.
Highlights
- Katherine LaNasa turned a real cancer diagnosis into the emotional backbone of her Emmy-winning role on The Pitt.
- The quiet moments that defined Nurse Dana were drawn straight from LaNasa’s own hospital experience.
- Behind LaNasa’s compassionate performance lies the dark reality of the violence real nurses face every day.
“My goal was for Dana to be a love letter and a thank you to all the people who treated me so kindly, so lovingly, and so thoughtfully when I had cancer.”
The Pitt star Katherine LaNasa revealed what contributed to her cancer diagnosis
Image credits: HBO Max
In June 2025, LaNasa authored an article for the Women’s Health magazine, where she first publicly discussed her struggles with cancer. In February 2023, she was diagnosed with Stage I bre*st cancer.
In her 30s, LaNasa received a mammogram (an X-ray diagnosis of human bre*sts) result that was “inconclusive,” which suggested she was at risk of having cancer. In early 2023, she went for her annual mammogram, and this time the results came back cancerous.
“You hear the word ‘cancer,' and you're worried you're going to die,” she wrote.
Despite the initial health scare, she soon learned that her cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes and was unlikely to prove fatal, as well as what might have caused it.
“The combination of dense breasts, alcoholism, and stress wasn't great,” she shared.
Katherine LaNasa’s performance as Dana was inspired by the real nurses who cared for her
Image credits: HBO Max
In March 2023, LaNasa underwent surgery, followed by three weeks of radiation therapy. During this time, she avoided looking at herself as a victim, which helped her find “care and love” in the medical treatment.
“Another vital source of care and love during that time was the nursing staff that surrounded me,” she revealed.
LaNasa recalled one nurse bringing her a warm blanket during her scans and another comforting her during a mental breakdown.
She eventually recovered and returned to acting, landing the role of Nurse Dana in The Pitt. LaNasa attended “doctor school,” a two-week medical camp to help the cast prepare for their roles.
It was during this time that the actress realized how her struggle with cancer had informed her performance as Dana. She shared her experiences with the writers, who incorporated them into a scene where Dana put a warm blanket around the feet of a struggling patient.
LaNasa also admitted she tried to channel the nurses’ “calm, steady attitude.”
Katherine LaNasa’s Nurse Dana highlights another important healthcare issue
Image credits: HBO Max
Although LaNasa’s real experience with cancer added a layer of compassion to Dana, the character was originally conceived to represent a major issue in the American healthcare system.
In an interview with TV Insider, executive producer R. Scott Gemmill revealed that Dana was meant to represent the reality of violence towards emergency department workers.
“One in four nurses has been a*s*ulted, sometimes also with guns and knives. It’s a real problem,” he said.
Image credits: HBO Max
LaNasa was also aware of this reality, having shadowed a real nurse who confirmed that it was very common “for the nurses to get hit, punched, kicked, and bit.”
She admitted to having an “existential crisis” performing the scene, as she tried to grapple with what her character was experiencing after the shocking and degrading moment.
LaNasa’s dedication to adding realism to her performance certainly paid off, with the actress winning the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emmy Award for her role.
The Pitt is currently streaming on HBO Max.