*CNN anchor Sara Sidner has been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
The beloved journalist shared the distressing news on air Monday, telling viewers, “I have never been sick a day of 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. It is hard to say out loud.”
Sidner noted that stage 3 breast cancer “is not a death sentence anymore for most women.”
The anchor is undergoing chemotherapy and plans to have a double mastectomy.
“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 did.”
Meanwhile, we reported earlier that breast cancer occurs at similar or lower rates among Black and White women, but Black women have a higher mortality rate.
“We have been reporting this same disparity year after year for a decade. The differences in death rates are not explained by Black women having more aggressive cancers,” said Rebecca Siegel, MPH, who co-authored “Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2022-2024,” a companion to “Breast Cancer Statistics, 2022 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians,” per cancer.org.
Siegel said, “It is time for health systems to take a hard look at how they are caring differently for Black women.”
Researchers propose that Black women should undergo screening earlier to counter infection and reduce breast cancer mortality.
Breast cancer mainly affects women over 50, according to cancer.org. The majority of women who die from breast cancer in the US are over the age of 70. Several studies suggest that Black women should begin screening for breast cancer at the age of 42 rather than 50.
READ MORE: Maryland Mom ‘Too Afraid to Go to Doctor’ Given 5 Weeks to Live After Breast Cancer Diagnosis
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