Celebrating Milestones and Feeling Grateful
- TV chef Sandra Lee just celebrated her 56th birthday in Lake Como, Italy, and says this year is extra special to her as a seven-year breast cancer survivor.
- After a 2015 mastectomy and recent hysterectomy, the cookbook author is learning to love herself and embrace this new chapter with her fiancé Ben Yousef, 43.
- Many people typically dread each year “around the sun” as they age, especially women. But these days, there are more and more women embracing the aging process and accepting that you can live actually live your best years in your 50s, 60s, and beyond. Cancer survivors, in particular, seem to look at life in a different way after coming so close to losing it.
“This past year has brought me so much… unbelievable happiness, stunning fear, absolute love and most importantly appreciation for life itself,” Sandra recently told PEOPLE. “Thank you God! As a cancer survivor, I look at life a lot differently than I used to and want to soak up as much of life as I can. Every moment of every day matters to me. Health, physical and mental, is my priority.”
Read MoreThis is truly a wonderful way to look at life. Many people past 40 typically dread each year “around the sun,” especially women. But these days, there are more and more women embracing the aging process and accepting that you can live actually live your best years in your 50s, 60s, and beyond. Cancer survivors, in particular, seem to look at life in a different way after coming so close to losing it. Aging with pride is the way to goespecially when there are so many others who are not so fortunate to continue their gift of life.
“I am no longer counting the years, but instead I am making the years count,” she said. “I am so grateful for the moments I captured on this birthday and look forward to another year of health and happiness with the people that matter most.”
Sandra has been sharing snaps of her travels on Instagram with her fiancé, actor Ben Yousef, 43, and shared that the pair visited a “gorgeous little church” for a birthday “blessing” before her big day.
“A few of my very dearest friends flew over in to help me celebrate and I got my own fireworks display followed by an incredible birthday cake covered in glittering white gum paste roses,” she wrote of her special day.
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Beaming with gratitude, Sandra definitely seems to be living her best life.
“My wish for all is a peaceful and lovely life ahead full of health and happiness,” she added. “Time to go make some more memories! Sending love Sandy xoxo.”
Sandra’s Breast Cancer and Mastectomy
Sandra, who is the ex-girlfriend of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, was diagnosed with early breast cancer in 2015. Cuomo, whom she dated for 14 years, was the first person she called, along with her mother. Luckily it was early stage DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), which is noninvasive, which means it hasn't spread outside the milk duct of the breast.
The TV personality chose to have a bilateral mastectomy to remove the breast tissue in both breasts. Sandra's grandmother had stomach cancer, and she witnessed her recurrence and didn't want to face the same fate or be plagued with worry. Plus, with the mastectomy she didn't have to do radiation or chemotherapy. (It is important to note that the cookbook guru also tested negative for BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations that increase your risk of breast cancer.)
"The doctor who did the biopsy said I had medium-aggressive DCIS. 'The concern with yours is that it's in 3 different places. It's at 10 o'clock, it's at noon, and it's at 2, and none of them are connected, so we're going to keep an eye on you, but you're going to have to make a decision as to what we should do,'" Lee said. So she chose to remove her breasts
When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
She had also explained the emotional "betrayal" of her own body.
"It takes away a form of innocence that you didn't even know you had," she said in 2018 on Good Morning America. "That innocence, when it's gone, is really startling, and that is what still brings the tears after the fact. For the most part I'm really resilient, but there are times even now that I get really overwhelmed with what happened."
SurvivorNetTV Presents Resilient: Learning to Overcome
Sandra shared in an Instagram that she meant to have her hysterectomy after her mastectomy a few years ago, but she " had repeatedly put it off and then Covid hit." Probably for the best, since she was already going through enough when she had her breasts removed.
Sandra had complications with her surgery and unfortunately had an infection. She finally finished her breast reconstruction in 2020 and set an intention to get as healthy as possible and take control of her physical and emotional well-being, which she clearly has!
Cancer and Body Image
Body image changes after cancer treatment are very common. In fact, women going through breast cancer and ovarian cancer report struggling with side effects like scars or other physical changes that can come after surgery. Watching this short film can help put these challenges into context and offer support from women who have been through similar situations.
For women with ovarian cancer, body image can be more distressing if surgery is needed to remove reproductive organs. Marisa Gholson, a physician's assistant at Compass Oncology in Portland, Oregon, reports that scars and other side effects from ovarian cancer treatments can take time to overcome, but eventually are less apparent. Self-acceptance is an essential part of living with cancer, regardless of severity.
‘Body Image: Embracing Your Body'
"Femininity is a state of mind," says Ann Caruso, a celebrity stylist. "Society has us thinking that our breasts are what makes us sexy. You know, there are so many other things. There's touch, there's our eyes a glance, the way we speak. It's the curve of our body, it's the way that we think. There are so many special things about being a woman."
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