Putting Yourself First
- E TV host Keltie Knight, 42, says she had been suffering in silence from a blood disorder for nearly a decade. While announcing she will undergo a hysterectomy, she urges other women to hide their health conditions for fear of shame to prioritize their health ultimately.
- A hysterectomy is a procedure that removes part or all of the uterus (or womb), often along with the cervix, according to the National Cancer Institute. Women who receive a diagnosis of uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer may have their cancer treated with a hysterectomy.
- Knight is diagnosed with microcytic anemia, a type of blood disorder caused by an iron deficiency that often leaves her feeling extremely fatigued. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, this type of disorder is “characterized by smaller-than-normal red cells due to decreased production of hemoglobin.”
- Knight’s situation affected her mental health. Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman suggests people working on their mental health to practice positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on encouraging feelings of positivity among patients and finding what brings a sense of vitality to their lives.
TV host Keltie Knight, 42, is reconciling with her health after suffering in silence for nearly a decade. She announced she’s having a hysterectomy (removal of part or all of the uterus) and that she lives with a blood disorder. She’s hopeful by prioritizing her health, the hysterectomy will help her find peace.
“I’ve been suffering in silence for so long behind the scenes,” Knight said in a heartfelt Instagram video detailing her condition.
Read MoreView this post on InstagramKnight says she often deals with a myriad of symptoms, from blurry vision to extreme fatigue, that makes her job as a television host increasingly difficult.
“I have fatigue like I couldn’t even describe to you. I’m sleeping like 16 hours a day,” she told E-News online.
“As women, we stop feeling like we need to pretend everything is OK when it’s not,” she advised.
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“I’m having a hysterectomy! I’ve been silently suffering for most of the last decade,” Knight said.
A hysterectomy is a procedure that removes part or all of the uterus (or womb), often along with the cervix, according to the National Cancer Institute. Women who receive a diagnosis of uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer may have their cancer treated with a hysterectomy.
Women may need a hysterectomy for a variety of reasons she and her doctor carefully review. Some examples may include endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain or vaginal bleeding, and uterine fibroids.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Heidi Gray, a gynecologic oncologist, discussed open versus robotic surgery and how the two can be used to perform a hysterectomy.
“The most common procedure that we do robotically would be a hysterectomy, removal of the tubes and ovaries, you can also do more complicated omentectomy removing of the omentum [a fatty apron surrounding abdominal organs],” Dr. Gray explained.
The National Cancer Institute explains that there are different types of hysterectomy procedures.
- Total hysterectomy: Removal of the uterus and cervix, but the ovaries and fallopian tubes may also be removed.
- Supracervical hysterectomy: Removal of just the upper part of the uterus but keeping the cervix. This may also be called a partial hysterectomy.
- Total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy: Removing the uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes (salpingectomy), and ovaries (oophorectomy).
- Radical hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy: Removing the uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, ovaries, the upper portion of the vagina, and some surrounding tissue and lymph nodes. This hysterectomy is done when cancer is involved.
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Knight is diagnosed with microcytic anemia, a type of blood disorder. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, this type of disorder is “characterized by smaller-than-normal red cells due to decreased production of hemoglobin.”
“I have smaller and less blood cells than a normal person, which means my body carries less oxygen to my tissues and it messes up everything,” Knight explained.
Additional research published in Medical Clinics of North America adds that “the vast majority of patients respond effectively to inexpensive and usually well-tolerated oral iron preparations.”
Knight says the blood disorder often makes her feel “awful.”
“It doesn’t matter what you do to me, nothing – nutrition, infusions, hormones, anything – my blood cells are just smaller, and there’s less of them, and so, I’m feeling awful constantly,” she said.
Knight says her lingering health issues weighed heavy on her as she juggled how she felt with her career.
“I felt replaceable, so I never really advocated for myself because I knew if I was out sick, they would find someone younger, sparlier and healthier. Living with a chronic disease silently takes over your entire life. There is the guilt of not being a good wife or a good friend, and the shame of never getting better leads to deep depression,” Knight added.
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Since publicly sharing her health concerns, Knight has received an outpouring of support online. Instagram user and Canadian filmmaker and music video director Cole Walliser commented, “You Got This! And well done for having the courage to share.”
Instagram user Andy Reyes commented, “Sending you all the positive energy for a healthy and speedy recovery. You will be so much better on the other side of this.”
Helping Patients Cope with Mental Health
- Changing the Culture: Medical Professionals Shouldn’t be Ashamed to Seek Mental Health Treatment
- Mental Health and Cancer — The Fight, Flight or Freeze Response
- Do You Have a Question About Mental Health & Cancer– Strong In Cancer — A New Column From SurvivorNet with Dr. Marianna Strongin
- How Can Genetic Testing Help Determine the Right Form of Mental Health Treatment?
Combatting Shame and Depression
Knight noted living with a chronic disease made her feel shame and affected her mental health.
Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman suggests that people working on their mental health practice positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on encouraging patients to feel positive and finding what brings a sense of vitality to their lives.
WATCH: Managing your mental health amid a health challenge.
Dr. Boardman explains them as “pathways to embrace your everyday resilience.” In other words, these are tools people who may be struggling with mental health issues can embrace to help maintain a certain sense of positivity. And those positive feelings can go a long way when people are facing a health challenge like a cancer diagnosis.
According to Dr. Boardman, these three wellsprings of vitality are:
- Connecting. This involves how you’re connecting with others and having meaningful interactions. It involves being a good listener and being engaged with the people around you who you care about.
- Contribution. How are you adding value to the people around you? Are you helping them in ways that feel meaningful to them? This entails contributing/engaging with others in a meaningful way.
- Feeling challenged. Being “positively challenged” could involve learning something new (perhaps by taking a new class or reading an interesting book) and expanding your mind in some way.
“Those are the cores of vitality and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman said.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you find yourself struggling with a diagnosis or helping a loved one cope with their emotions, consider asking your doctor the following questions:
- How can I go about improving my outlook/mental health?
- Are there any activities I can do to encourage positive feelings?
- When should I seek other interventions if I’m still struggling?
- How can seeking these connections help me in my day-to-day life?
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