Zoraida Sambolin an anchor with CNN has announced she is scheduled to undergo a double mastectomy after doctors told her she had breast cancer. The CNN anchor's decision to announce her surgery came after superstar celebrity Angelina Jolie had a double mastectomy after learning she had an 87% chance of developing breast cancer.
CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin knew about her breast cancer for about 5-weeks. She was unsure how to broach the subject with her viewers and even more heart broken at having to tell her two children she had breast cancer.
"I thank Angelina Jolie for making it easier," Sambolin told a fellow CNN anchor during an interview. "I was trying to figure it out, how do I tell the viewers I'm going to be gone for a while, how do I tell them about my breast cancer, How do I talk about a double mastectomy?"
When Sambolin told her 14-year-old son about her illness she started by asking him what came to mind when he heard the words "breast cancer." Sambolin's son replied "a fight." After hearing her son's answer Sambolin knew he "had the right attitude."
When telling her daughter Sambolin was more worried that the girl would think this automatically meant she was sick too. As it turns out Sambolin's daughter was just happy to hear her mother would be ok after her surgery.
Sambolin said when she walked in to her office and heard about Angelina Jolie she was grateful because it made what she had to do just a little easier.
Angelina Jolie told the world about her decision to have a double mastectomy as a preventative measure in an op-ed piece for the New York Times. In her piece Jolie talks about her mother's struggle with breast cancer and how she hung on long enough to see the "first of her grandchildren."
Angelina Jolie also spoke about her children questioning her on whether or not she will get the same disease that killed "mommy's mommy." It was for her children that Jolie decided to take the preventative measure and have the double mastectomy.
Like Angelina Jolie, CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin decided to have both breasts removed despite cancer only being found in her right breast, for her children.
Sambolin has two children whom she described as "my world" like any mother Sambolin wants to fight as hard as she can to give her family peace of mind.
Zoraida Sambolin decided to write her own op-ed on the CNN website explaining what she is going through. Sambolin begins by saying,
"What are the chances you walk into work and the lead story is Angelina Jolie has had a double mastectomy when you are facing one yourself?"
She goes on to say, "I was diagnosed with breast cancer five weeks ago, on April 9. Saying it, talking about it, dealing with it has been a complicated journey. Luckily, I have a very early form of breast cancer called DCIS."
"I identified with some of the issues [Angelina Jolie] candidly discussed, such as her children, her sexuality and her femininity," Sambolin continued. "I never expected to share this news so publicly and I certainly did not want to become the story. But judging from the outpouring of support, I am not alone."
Sambolin concluded by thanks everyone for their support and saying because of advice she has received from survivors she knows she will come out of this "more empowered."
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