Erin Andrews Was Secretly Battling Cervical Cancer On DWTS
There’s never a good time to get cancer.
There’s shit to do, bills to pay, people to see, and for Sports reporter Erin Andrews– there’s a shitload of traveling and reporting to be done.
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Erin just revealed to MMBQ that she received a call from her doctor telling her that she had cervical cancer last year and needed surgery ASAP. But Erin didn’t let cervical cancer keep her from her passion and job.
She covered the game that week, then flew back to LA and had surgery in early October. She even told her doctor that she didn’t plan on watching any games at home this season before the surgery.
Most of us will take a day off from work for a hangover, but Erin was on a red-eye flight just two days after the surgery to cover a Green Bay Packers game.
“Should I have been standing for a full game five days after surgery? Let’s just say the doctor didn’t recommend that,” said Erin. “But… sports were my escape. I needed to be with my crew.”
The good news is that Erin’s forcibly quick recovery from the surgery didn’t hurt her health. In fact, after a follow up procedure one month after her first surgery, her doctor called to let her know that she was cancer-free.
Not only is Erin a lead NFL Sideline reporter for FOX, she also was hosting “Dancing With The Stars” last season, and during the time when she received the call from her doctor.
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Cancer is scary af, and women like Erin serve as a reminder that something like this could happen to anyone.
Cervical cancer is frequently caused by HPV, although Erin doesn’t mention HPV in her interview. In fact, HPV is found in almost 99% of cervical cancers, according to National Cervical Cancer Coalition. Luckily, cervical cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer, but this is because of how easily it is detected from a pap smear, which you should be getting at least once every three years.
But even though cervical cancer is easily detected, that’s not the case if women aren’t getting the proper check-ups. New research has shown that the death rate from cervical cancer in the US is higher than expected, and there is a huge racial disparity.
It was found in the new research that the mortality rate for black women was 10.1 per 100,000. For white women, it was 4.7 per 100,000. Many doctors attribute this gap to inaccessibility to screening, according to The New York Times.
“I have even more concerns going forward, with the [possible] repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which covers screening, and the closing of family planning clinics, which do much of that screening,” said Dr. Kathleen M. Schmeler, an associate professor of gynecologic oncology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to The New York Times.
Additionally, HPV can be sexually transmitted, and is often transmitted through men who have no signs of HPV. Just remember, safe sex is great sex. Just because Erin made her battle with cervical cancer look easy, doesn’t mean that there’s ever a reason to be careless with protecting your body. Always make sure to get checked up, and if you’re worried about your healthcare access in the coming years, see your doctors now while you’re covered.
