A CNN news anchor recently announced that she has stage three breast cancer while on air.
Sara Sidner shocked audiences on Monday when she announced live on TV that she's been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and is already entering her second month of chemotherapy.
"I have never been sick a day of my life. I don’t smoke, I rarely drink," Sidner said during Monday's episode of CNN News Central, which she co-hosts alongside John Berman and Kate Bolduan.
"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." she added.
The 51-year-old, who is set to undergo radiation as well as a double mastectomy, was refreshingly positive about her outlook on the challenge, stating that it "is not a death sentence anymore for most women."
She then urged her viewers to go for regular screenings.
"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 before adding: "Do your self-exams, try to catch it before I did."
Sidner then said that she’s grateful for cancer "choosing [her]."
"I’m learning that no matter what hell we go through in life that I am still madly in love with this life, and just being alive feels really different for me now," she stated.
Have a look at the full video below:Speaking to PEOPLE Magazine after the announcement, the journalist opened up further about the overall perspective changd she went through after her diagnosis.
"Mentally, it has been 90% good for me because it's just opened my eyes to how beautiful this life that we have is," she told the outlet. "I love my life now more than I can remember since probably 7 or 8. I really, truly feel grateful just to be here."
Sidner was reporting on the Israel-Hamas war from the scene when she got the news that her mammogram had sparked some concerns for doctors and while she was out there, she couldn't help but think about the situation that was waiting for her back home.
However, she soon realized that even those suffering at the hands of war were still committed and resilient to their cause so she channeled that energy to aid her own mindset.
"Seeing the kind of suffering going on where I was and seeing people still live through the worst thing that has ever happened to them with grace and kindness, I was blown away by their resilience," Sidner recalled. "In some weird way, it helped me with my own perspective on what I am going to be facing."
When she got back to the States, her worst fears were confirmed.
"When I got the news, I didn't tell anybody, not even my mother or husband or sisters or friends," she said. "I just needed to process it."
"The first thing I thought of was, 'You better start writing letters to the people you love because you're not going to be here,'" she said breaking down in tears. "So I started writing one to my mom, who was struggling with her own health situation."
But she quickly decided that she was going to battle this disease as best as she could.
"I just made a decision. I'm like, 'No, you're going to live and you're going to stop this and you're going to do every single thing in your arsenal to survive this. Period.' And I have been so much happier in my life since ... I mean happier than I was before cancer."
Sidner added that she now wakes up "excited about whatever is coming, because I'm here."
Our thoughts are with Sara and her loved ones during this incredibly difficult time and we hope she manages to come out stronger than ever on the other side.
