Overcoming Traumatic Experiences
- NFL journalist Erin Andrews, 46, is opening up about some of the biggest highs and lows of her life, from her recognition in a male-dominated sport to her 2016 cervical cancer diagnosis and traumatic stalker incident in 2009.
- At 38, the sports broadcaster was diagnosed with cervical cancer after a routine pap screening. Andrews had two surgeries, preceded by in vitro fertilization (IVF) to preserve her fertility, but faced struggles conceiving.
- While Erin Andrews has not disclosed if she suffers symptoms from clinical trauma-related stress from these situations, it’s important to know about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a common disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.
- If you feel you are experiencing any of these symptoms, such as after a cancer diagnosis or treatment, it’s important you talk to your doctor. A patient navigator can also help connect you with a mental health professional who can offer important treatment. In the meantime, check out SurvivorNet’s mental health guide HERE for some useful information and resources.
“I had grown men who are superstars in the NFL call me, and text me, and pull me aside on the sidelines to cry,” the 46-year-old recalled of her sharing her health news. “They said they were so grateful that I was so vocal about cervical cancer.”
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“I wake up one morning and there’s video of me all over the internet,” she shared. “And I called my parents. I always get emotional about that, because I know my parents suffered a lot. I started screaming to them, ‘My career is over. I am finished. This is going to ruin me!’ ”
A man had secretly recorded her through a peephole camera at a Nashville Marriott. Andrews sued the man and hotel, and was awarded $55 million for damages. The man served 2 and a half years in prison.
“I had a public trial. I had to prove to a lot of people that I didn’t put those pictures up of myself,” she explained.
“That was a really tough thing for my family. I would walk around stadiums and just think, ‘Everybody in this stadium has seen me naked,’ and I didn’t have a choice. It was really hard.”
On a much lighter note, as for her career in sports broadcasting, which has continued to boom despite her earlier in life trauma, the admitted “superfan” says she stays invested due to her true love of the game.
“I love football so much. I love reading about these guys. I love what they put into this.”
Andrews credited her dad, an Emmy-winning investigative journalist, for igniting her sports spark. “I love watching sports because of my dad. I grew up thinking these players were my friends.”
When she faced cancer, she realized they were.
Erin Andrews’ Cervical Cancer Battle
Andrews was 38 when doctors detected cervical cancer during a routine pap screening in 2016.
Ever since her diagnosis, Andrews has been highly vocal about women staying up to date on their cancer screenings.
To treat her cancer, which may include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Andrews had two surgeries, preceded by in vitro fertilization (IVF) to preserve her fertility.
In an essay posted to Bulletin and titled “My seventh time doing IVF, I am not keeping it a secret anymore,” Andrews outlined the struggles she’d faced with fertility, as she and her husband, NHL player Jarret Stoll, tried to conceive.
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“For those familiar,” she said, “you know it’s a time-consuming and emotionally draining process. This is my 7th one, and I’ve been going through these treatments since I was 35 years old.”
Thankfully, Andrews was able to welcome a child with her husband, retired hockey player Jarret Stoll, 41, via surrogate. Mack Roger Stoll was born last June.
Screening for Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is detected via a pap smear test, which looks for early signs of the disease, which is mainly caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause many other cancers like throat cancer and anal cancer. Medical experts recommend the HPV vaccine for children ages 9-12, before their sexual years.
Nearly every sexually-active person will get HPV at some point in their lives, but most people with the infection do not know they have it and never develop symptoms or health problems from it. That is why it’s important to stay up on your annual pap tests.
“Many women think that a pap smear checks for ovarian cancer, but it doesn’t. Pap smears detect only cervical cancer, not all gynecologic cancers,” Nurse Practitioner Barbara Dehn explained to SurvivorNet in a previous interview.
She added, “In fact, there is no test that detects ovarian cancer in its earliest stages, which is why two-thirds to three-quarters of women are diagnosed at a later stage, when the disease has spread to nearby tissues and organs.”
Every year in the U.S., approximately 14,480 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer. And nearly a third of women diagnosed will pass away from this disease.
Getting pap smears to detect for cervical cancer is critically important because an earlier diagnosis may mean a better prognosis and broader treatment options.
Deciding to Share Your Cancer Diagnosis
After a cancer diagnosis, many people struggle over the decision to share their news. Some choose to share right away, others wait, while some never share at all.
“People should do what feels right to them,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik previously told SurvivorNet.
It takes time to cope with a diagnosis, and part of that process includes determining how to talk to other people about what you are going through. Another reason that survivors may keep their diagnosis close is to avoid unwanted judgment from others.
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“Going through a cancer diagnosis, through treatment, is often a very long process. And then, if you include after treatment ends where a person is in a kind of limbo, waiting to see if they are clear and get their scans. It may be three months or six months into the future.”
“People are still dealing with uncertainty at that point.”
Healing from Trauma-Related Stress
While Erin Andrews has not disclosed if she suffers symptoms from clinical trauma-related stress from these situations, it’s important to know about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a common disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.
Many cancer survivors and trauma survivors have experienced PTSD.
Complex PTSD, or CPTSD, according to the Cleveland Clinic, can result from experiencing chronic (long-term) trauma. CPTSD involves stress responses, such as:
- Anxiety
- Having flashbacks or nightmares
- Avoiding situations, places and other things related to the traumatic event
- Heightened emotional responses, such as impulsivity or aggressiveness
- Persistent difficulties in sustaining relationships
- Psychotherapy (talk therapy) is the main treatment for complex PTSD
If you feel you are experiencing any of these symptoms, such as after a cancer diagnosis or treatment, it’s important you talk to your doctor. A patient navigator can also help connect you with a mental health professional who can offer important treatment. In the meantime, check out SurvivorNet’s mental health guide HERE for some useful information and resources.
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