CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin strolled in to the studio to do CNN’s “Early Start” morning show on Tuesday. The lead story was about Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy. Coincidentally, Sambolin was facing her own bout with breast cancer and had been struggling with how to break the news to those close to her. According to an op-ed piece by Sambolin, Jolie’s announcement gave Sambolin the courage she needed.
“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,” she writes.
Sambolin is also having the same procedure as the famous actress:
MRI scans show some questionable areas in my left breast and many in my right. After several consultations with some of the finest doctors in New York and Chicago (my hometown), volumes of research and some serious soul searching, I have chosen to have a double mastectomy.
She made an announcement on the Tuesday show prior to writing the piece:
Angelina Jolie chose to bear her soul in writing and I chose to follow her lead in front of all our viewers Tuesday. I identified with some of the issues she candidly discussed, such as her children, her sexuality and her femininity. 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 has a history of fibrocystic breast tissue. The tissue is extremely dense and makes for a difficult mammogram read. Two years before she took a job with CNN she had a lumpectomy.
Sambolin had a message for woman facing a similar fight:
I hope that every woman facing this decision takes the time to understand her options and surrounds herself with the support she needs to get through the difficult times.
She ends by saying, “My final words here are thank you -- for the many blessings, thoughts, prayers and even hugs you have sent my way today. Keep them coming!”
For the full op-ed piece click here.
