Angelina Jolie's decision undergo a preventative double mastectomy after discovering she had a gene that increased her risk of breast cancer by 87 percent prompted another prominent figure to announce her upcoming breast-removal procedure.
Zoraida Sambolin, host of CNN's "Early Start," told viewers on air today that she has breast cancer and has decided to remove both her breasts to curtail the disease.
"I struggled for weeks trying to figure out how tell you that I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was leaving to have surgery," Sambolin said in a post on her Facebook page Tuesday. "Then, Angelina Jolie shares her story of a double mastectomy and gives me strength and an opening."
Jolie said in an op-ed for the New York Times Tuesday that she has the BRCA1 gene that greatly increases breast cancer risk and has undergone 3 months of preventative procedures and breast reconstruction.
She called her decision empowering, something that Sambolin said really spoke to her.
"She said I feel empowered, that I'm in a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity," Sambolin said. "You know, it's nice to hear somebody else talk about it and have that support of a lot of women around you."
Sambolin said she was diagnosed with cancer 3 weeks ago and is set to undergo surgery May 28, the New York Daily News reported.
She said she was unsure if she had the BRCA1 gene as Jolie does, but she credits her diagnosis, which was hindered by issues with fibrocystic breast tissue, to regular mammograms. She has elected to take part in testing to find out if she has the gene.
At the end of the day, I need to have peace of mind," she said. "I need to sleep at night. I have two kids that are my world, like any woman, and it's what you think about. So I thought for me, this would be the best decision moving forward so I could feel confident that it's not something that I'm going to have to deal with that much more in the future."
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
