Normani's Family's Cancer Fight
- Singer Normani, 25, shares in a new interview how her mother is battling breast cancer for a second time.
- She says her mom underwent chemotherapy and radiation to treat her disease.
- Breast cancer is typically screened for via mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue.
Normani is a multi-time MTV Video Music Award winner who first broke onto the music scene as a member of the pop music group Fifth Harmony. Since she began her career as a solo artist, her star has only continued to rise.
Read MoreThe singer says her mom underwent chemotherapy and radiation to treat her disease. Normani shares how her creative outlet helped the whole family. “This past year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. For me, this work that I was able to put out into the world, like, this really saved me, to be completely honest.”
She continues, “Even just being on FaceTime with her as she’s going through her chemo and her radiation, and just wanting me to update her on how this video is going, and how the music is coming, it really got her through that. It got my family through the darkest time of our lives.”
Screening for Breast Cancer
Normani didn’t go into details about how her mom’s breast cancer was detected, but typically mammograms screen for this disease. Mammograms look for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of breast cancer.
Women aged 45 to 54 should get mammograms annually. And women like Nixon, who have a family history of the disease, should start screening before 45. If someone in your family has breast cancer, or if you carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, start screening early.
Related: When You're Getting a Mammogram, Ask About Dense Breasts
In an earlier interview, Dr. Connie Lehman, the chief of the Breast Imaging Division at Massachusetts General Hospital, explains the necessity of screening for breast cancer to detect this disease. She says, "If you haven't gone through menopause yet, I think it's very important that you have a mammogram every year."
"We know that cancers grow more rapidly in our younger patients, and having that annual mammogram can be lifesaving," explains Dr. Lehman. "After menopause, it may be perfectly acceptable to reduce that frequency to every two years."
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
Coping When a Parent Has Cancer
For people like Normani, who have one or both parents diagnosed with cancer, there are feelings like guilt which the singer spoke about which may come into play.
Normani said in her interview with Power 106, “There’s so many moments I was like, ‘I need to be at home’ and I felt guilty for not being able to be physically there with her.”
For many people in a similar situation, it can be helpful to reach out to a therapist. In an earlier interview, Camila Legaspi, whose mom battled breast cancer, says therapy helped her work through that time. She says, “Therapy saved my life. I was dealing with some really intense anxiety and depression at that point.”
“It just changed my life, because I was so drained by all the negativity that was going on,” says Legaspi. “Going to a therapist helped me realize that there was still so much out there for me, that I still had my family, that I still had my siblings. The reality is, is when you lose someone, it’s really, really, really hard. And it’s totally OK to talk to someone.”
"Therapy Saved My Life": After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
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