Emotional on-air moment: CNN anchor shares heartbreaking breast cancer diagnosis on live TV (WATCH)
CNN anchor Sara Sidner bravely shares her battle with stage 3 breast cancer, highlighting the importance of awareness, early detection, and gratitude for life in an emotional journey that transcends personal and societal perspectives.
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FollowCNN anchor Sara Sidner recently shared with viewers that she is currently battling stage 3 breast cancer during a segment of "CNN News Central," which she co-hosts. She revealed that she is in her second month of chemotherapy and will undergo radiation and a double mastectomy.
In a poignant moment on air, Sidner urged viewers to "take a moment to remember the names of eight women who are important to you." She emphasized that one in every eight women experiences or will experience breast cancer at some point in their lives.
Despite being in good health overall and lacking any family history of breast cancer, the 51-year-old anchor finds herself as the one in eight within her circle of friends. She expressed her surprise at the diagnosis, stating, "I have never been sick a day in my life. I don't smoke, I rarely drink, breast cancer does not run in my family, and yet here I am with stage 3 breast cancer."
"Stage 3 breast cancer is not a death sentence anymore for a vast majority of women. But here is the reality that shocked my system. Something I never knew. If you happen to be a Black woman, you are 40 per cent more likely to die from breast cancer than your White counterparts," she added.
"So to all my sisters, Black and White and Brown out there, please, for the love of God, get your mammograms every single year. Do your self-exams, try to catch it before I did," Sidner continued.
Additionally, the journalist expressed gratitude for her diagnosis, noting that it has shifted her perspective on life. She stated, "I have thanked cancer for choosing me. I'm learning that no matter what hell we go through in life that I am still madly in love with this life, and just being alive feels really different for me now. I am happier because foolish little things no longer annoy me and now every single day that I breathe another breath I can celebrate that I am still here with you, my co-anchors and my family. I can love, laugh and cry and that is enough," she said while holding back tears."
During an interview with People Magazine, Sidner revealed that while covering the war in Israel in October, she received concerning news about her mammogram, indicating the need for a biopsy upon her return to the United States. Upon returning, the biopsy confirmed that the lump she had noticed a few months earlier was indeed cancerous and had reached an advanced stage. Reflecting on the moment she received the news, she shared, "When I got the news, I didn't tell anybody, not even my mother or husband or sisters or friends. I just needed to process it," she disclosed to the publication.
After grappling with feelings of powerlessness for a few days, Sidner reached a profound realization that she couldn't surrender to despair. "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. Period,'" she declared. Since then, she expressed that her life has been marked by a newfound joy. She shared with the outlet, "I wake up now excited about whatever is coming, because I'm here."
