“Grey’s Anatomy” star Kate Walsh says the doctor who removed her brain tumor was just like her character Dr. Addison

Kate Walsh played the beloved Dr. Addison Montgomery for years. She started out on Grey’s Anatomy and then led six seasons of the spin-off Private Practice. So she’s no stranger to pretending to be a doctor. But then it came time for her to find her real-life version of Addison. When she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, she wanted to find a real doctor who she could trust.

Kate Walsh recently opened up about her journey from diagnosis to surgery to recovery. It sounds like it was a difficult journey, but perhaps made a bit easier by her years of wearing the white coat. She spoke about her connection to the role of a doctor while finding her actual doctor in a recent interview with ABC Radio.

“I ended up finding this amazing doctor here in L.A. who is kind of a total Addison and I say that only because I’m like I can’t believe I kind of found an Addison," she said. "I love her so much and she’s so cool and so knowledgeable and so fierce and amazing."

When Walsh initially received her diagnosis, there was no word on if the tumor was benign or not. It would seem that finding a doctor who was confident and reassuring would be very helpful. Luckily, after removal, the tumor was declared benign.

“You’d think that after playing Dr. Addison for the better part of a decade, where I spent more time on a hospital set than at my house, that I would feel somehow more comfortable, but I was such a little scaredy-cat, Walsh told Cosmopolitan.

Kate Walsh was deliberate about keeping her health scare under wraps for a while.

She’s talking about it now because she’s fully recovered, and ready to raise awareness. And that is probably thanks to her IRL Dr. Addison. We’re so glad she’s doing okay!

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