In an emotional speech Monday, CNN news anchor Sara Sidner announced that she had stage three breast cancer and implored women “for God's sake” to get mammograms every year.
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“I’ve never been sick a day in my life,” she said, her voice shaking. I do not smoke. I rarely drink. Breast cancer doesn't run in my family. And yet I have stage three breast cancer. It’s hard to say it out loud.”
The 51-year-old woman, who is in her second month of chemotherapy, added that she will begin radiation treatment soon. She will also undergo a double mastectomy, which involves the complete removal of both breasts.
Please, for the love of God, get your mammograms and do your self-exams. I want you to be well, my sisters. 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 pic.twitter.com/jIuW8WwSb2
– Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) January 8, 2024
Although stage three breast cancer is no longer a death sentence, the host said she was shocked to learn that black women are 41% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, according to the American Cancer Society.
“So to all my sisters, black, white and brown, please, for heaven’s sake, get mammograms every year and do your self-exams. Try to recognize it before I do,” pleads the woman, who has not missed a single day of work since her treatments began.
In love with his life
Later, Sara Sidner goes so far as to thank cancer for choosing her, as she learns that despite life's trials, she is still in love with this life.
“Just being alive feels completely different now. I'm happier because I no longer worry about small details that used to bother me. Now, every day that I breathe, I can celebrate that I'm still here with you, with my co-hosts, my colleagues, my family, and I can love and cry and laugh and hope, and that, my dear friends , is “It’s a lot,” she concludes with tears in her eyes.
In an exclusive interview with People magazine, Sidner said his illness “opened his eyes to the beauty of our lives.”
Presenter Sara Sidner during chemotherapy treatment. PHOTO Sara Sidner via People
“I love my life more now than I can remember. “I'm really grateful to be here,” said the woman who was on the ground covering the war between Israel and Hamas last October as she received the results of her mammogram.
“When I saw all the suffering that happened where I was and how people still deal with grace in the worst thing that has ever happened to them, I was overwhelmed by their resilience,” the journalist tells the magazine . In a strange way, it helped me gain perspective on what lay ahead.”
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