CNN’s Sara Sidner Reveals Stage 3 Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Pleads With Women To Get Mammograms
The world was in for a shock when CNN anchor Sara Sidner revealed her battle with stage three breast cancer live on the air, CBS News reports.
During an episode of CNN News Central on Jan. 8, Sidner, 51, ended her show with a heart-breaking announcement and essential message to women worldwide.
“I have never been sick a day of my life. I don’t smoke. I rarely drink,” Sidner said. “Breast cancer does not run in my family. And yet, here I am with stage three breast cancer. It is hard to say out loud.” She told viewers she is currently undergoing her second month of chemotherapy and will undergo radiation and a double mastectomy. Being optimistic about her treatment plan, she touches on how stage three “is not a death sentence anymore for most women.”
Her breast cancer journey began in October 2023 while covering the Israel-Hamas war in Israel. While overseas, doctors alerted her that she required a biopsy after her routine mammogram alarmed her doctors. She told People Magazine that receiving the news amid devastating turmoil had helped her. “Seeing the kind of suffering going on where I was and seeing people still live through the worst thing that has ever happened to them with grace and kindness, I was blown away by their resilience,” Sidner said.
“In some weird way, it helped me with my own perspective on what I am going to be facing.”
Sidner’s announcement came with some eye-opening statistics. One in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. The numbers increase for Black women as 41% of those battling the disease are more likely to die than white women. Higher death rates from breast cancer among Black women are likely related to higher cases of inflammatory breast cancer, which data shows to be aggressive but less common. “So to all my sisters, Black and White and Brown out there, please, for the love of God, get your mammograms every single year,” she said.
“Do your self-exams; try to catch it before I do.”
However, there have been several new scientific developments for breast cancer detection. A study from the Lancet Oncology journal found AI can detect breast cancer just as successfully as an experienced radiologist.
After coming to grips with her diagnosis, Sidner decided that she wasn’t going to let it define her.
“I just made a decision. I’m like, ‘No, you’re going to live, and you’re going to stop this, and you’re going to do every single thing in your arsenal to survive this.” she stated. “Period. And I have been so much happier in my life since … I mean happier than I was before cancer.”