RICHMOND, Va. -- In a two-minute emotional segment, CNN anchor Sara Sidner recently stunned viewers when she announced she had Stage 3 breast cancer.
"I have never been sick a day in my life,” Sidner said. “Yet here I am with Stage 3 breast cancer. It's hard to say out loud.”
Sidner was a healthy 51-year-old who didn’t smoke and rarely drank alcohol.
She also had no family history of breast cancer.
“I felt like she covered a lot of topics,” VCU Health Oncologist Dr. Hetal Vachhani said.
Dr. Vachhani said Sidner’s diagnosis is very common and she stressed early detection.
“If we can diagnose them in Stages 1 and 2, early-stage patients can be cured," Dr. Vachhani said. "That's the take-home message she wanted to portray as well."
Vachhani said Stage 3 is also still curable.
"Women need to be aware of the risk factors they have. Of course, being a woman is a risk factor, aging women is a risk factor,” Vachhani said.
She also said personal factors go into the risk assessment such as:
- Exposure to estrogen whether it’s through medications or birth control.
- Menstrual periods start too early
- Dense breast
- Age of a woman’s first pregnancy. Women who have a late pregnancy have a higher risk of breast cancer.
"Being aware of your history, personal and family. Make sure you're getting those annual mammograms starting at age 40. Make sure you discuss with your provider also whether you'll be a candidate for additional testing,” Vachhani said.
Sidner said with her diagnosis, she has a new appreciation for life.
“I can love and cry, laugh and hope and that my friends is enough,” Sidner said.
Sara Sidner is now undergoing chemotherapy.
She’ll also do radiation and have a double mastectomy.
Vachhani stressed being involved in clinical trials and doing those monthly breast self-exams.
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