Sykes' Loss
- Comedia Wanda Sykes, 57, recently lost her pet dog Riley and shared a photo of him on Instagram, along with a video of her and her wife singing his praises.
- Skyes is a breast cancer survivor; her stage-zero cancer was discovered in 2011 after breast reduction surgery; she opted for a bilateral mastectomy.
- Focusing on the good while battling cancer or coping with difficult times can help, experts say.
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Sykes also shared a video of her and her wife discussing the loss. She writes in the caption, “Riley was my guy, 17 1/2 years of unconditional love. My road dog. When I was down, he'd bark at me until I played ball with him. At the time I thought, what an asshole. Then I realized that he was just making me get up. Man I miss you so much. Getting up and dancing one out for you Riley.”
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Wanda’s Breast Cancer Discovery
The comedian’s breast cancer was discovered in 2011 following tissue tests done after a cosmetic breast reduction surgery. Sykes told People magazine, “It wasn't until after the reduction that in the lab work, the pathology, that they found that I had DCIS [ductal carcinoma in situ] in my left breast. I was very, very lucky because DCIS is basically stage-zero cancer. So I was very lucky."
Skyes has a history of breast cancer in her family, and she opted to have a bilateral mastectomy. "I had both breasts removed … because now I have zero chance of having breast cancer," she says.
Related: I Have Stage Zero Breast Cancer: What Should I Do?
"I had the choice of, you can go back every three months and get it checked,” says Sykes. Have a mammogram, MRI every three months just to see what it's doing. But, I'm not good at keeping on top of stuff. I'm sure I'm overdue for an oil change and a teeth cleaning already."
When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
Keeping a Positive Attitude Through Hard Times
Whether it’s battling cancer, coping with the loss of a furry friend, or perhaps even both, focusing on the good amid difficult times in life can be beneficial.
Dr. Zuri Murrell is a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai and he says that focusing on the positives in life while going through hard times, like a cancer battle, can be substantially beneficial, and may even improve outcomes. Dr. Murrell says in an earlier interview, “My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they’re diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK.”
“Now doesn’t that mean I’m good at saying that the cancer won’t grow. But I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
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