For Breast Cancer Awareness month, we salute actress-comedian, Wanda Sykes.
In 2011, she admitted on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres’ show that was “diagnosed with breast cancer and then elected to have a mastectomy.”
Skyes who was 47 at the time says:
“I had breast cancer and yeah, I know it’s scary.”
While undergoing a surgical procedure for a breast reduction, her doctors discovered that she had breast cancer.
She shared:
“This was in February. I went for the reduction. I had real big boobs and I just got tired of knocking over stuff. Every time I eat … Oh lord. I’d carry a Tide stick everywhere I go. My back was sore so it was time to have a reduction.”
“It wasn’t until after the reduction that in the lab work, the pathology, that they found that I had DCIS [ductal carcinoma in situ] in my left breast. I was very, very lucky because DCIS is basically stage-zero cancer. So I was very lucky.”
Because Skyes had a history of breast cancer on her mother’s side of the family, she had two choices. She would have to go back every three months to get checked, have a mammogram and MRI every three months, or have a bilateral mastectomy.
In doing so, she would have both breasts removed to ensure that there was no way she would have breast cancer again.
Skyes explained:
“It sounds scary upfront, but what do you want? Do you want to wait and not be as fortunate when it comes back and it’s too late?”
We admire your tenacity and strength Wanda Skyes.
Watch the interview below: