Sara Sidner, American Report for CNN has called on women around the globe – no matter their colour to screen for breast cancer at least once each year.
“Please for the love of God, get your mammograms every single year. Do your self-exams. Try to catch it before I did,” said Sidner with teary eyes as she shared that “she’s been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and is currently undergoing treatment.”
“Just take a second to recall the names of eight women you love and know in your life, just eight! Count them on your fingers. Statistically, one of them will get or have breast cancer. I am that ‘one in eight’, in my friend group. I’ve never been sick for a day of my life. I don’t smoke, I drink. Breast cancer does not run in my family and yet, here I am with stage 3 breast cancer. It’s hard to say out loud. I am in my second month of chemo treatment and will do radiation and double mastectomy,” she said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020[alone], there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 deaths globally that same year. As of the end of 2020, there were 7.8 million women alive who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 5 years, making it the world’s most prevalent cancer.
“Breast cancer occurs in every country of the world in women at any age after puberty but with increasing rates in later life,” further notes WHO.
The Canadian Cancer Society says for breast cancer, there are 5 stages – stage 0 followed by stages 1 to 4. Often the stages 1 to 4 are written as the Roman numerals I, II, III and IV. Generally, the higher the stage number, the larger the cancer is or the more the cancer has spread.
“Stages 1 to 3 are curable,” says Dr. Vaibhav Chaudhary, Consultant- Medical Oncology
Large Inequalities in Breast Cancer Care
While “stage 3 is not a death sentence anymore for a vast majority of women, here’s the reality – that shocked my system when I started to research more about breast cancer. Something I never knew before this diagnosis. If you happen to be a black woman, you’re 41% more likely to die from breast cancer, thanyour white counterparts… 41%,” says Sidner.
“The reason for racial disparities is largely driven by decades of structural racism leading to a higher risk of lower socioeconomic status – which contributes to inequalities in the social determinants of health, including access to care,” underlines the American Cancer Society
Hope inside
Despite the shock of her diagnosis, Sidner is upbeat and is calling on other women not to lose hope.
“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.
Being diagnosed with breast cancer has pushed Sidner to look at life anew.
“Now here’s something I could never have ever predicted would happen to me. I’ve thanked cancer for choosing me. I’m learning that no matter what hell we go through in life, I’m still madly in love with this life – and just being alive, feels different for me now. I’m happier because I don’t stress about foolish little things. Things that used to annoy me. And now every single day that I breathe another breath, I can still celebrate that I am still here with you, I’m here with my co-anchors, my colleagues, my family and I can love and can cry, laugh and hope. That my dear friends, is enough,” she said.
Reversing the trend
The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says that though many factors for a lifetime can influence [one’s] breast cancer risk, taking care of your health by being physically active, choosingnot to drink alcohol, or drinking alcohol in moderation, breastfeeding your children, if possible, knowing your family history of breast cancer or inherited changes, lowers the risk