Sandra Lee's Body Positivity
- Breast cancer survivor Sandra Lee, 55, recently underwent a preventative hysterectomy. She previously underwent a double mastectomy in 2015 to battle her breast cancer.
- On Sunday night, she donned an “F-U-cancer gown” to celebrate her body and embrace femininity after everything she’s gone through.
- Many women develop breast cancer every year, and the disease is the subject of much research. There are many treatment options out there, but treatment paths depend greatly on the specifics of each case.
The 55-year-old celebrity chef, who’s the ex-girlfriend of disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, 64, attended Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 30th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on Sunday night. And her outfit was a show-stopper to say the least
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“F-U Cancer was the theme of my dress last night,” she wrote in her caption. “Four weeks out from that intense surgery it was everything I could do to prepare for last night. Five days before the event I didn’t even have a dress. My wonderful Ukrainian/Russian friend ANAIT made this for me.”
Celebrity Stylist Ann Caruso on Beauty and Femininity After Cancer
She went on to elaborate on the message behind the dress.
“It’s sheer for a reason,” she explained. “Cancer and/or the preventative measure to avoid it, doesn’t take away our femininity, it doesn’t make us unsexy, if anything it gives us power – The power of choice. How do you want to live? With who do you want to live? How do you make every minute matter? I choose to live with as little fear as possible.”
Sandra Lee’s Health Journey
Lee was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2015. For treatment, she underwent a lumpectomy — surgery to remove cancer or other abnormal tissue from the breast — followed by a double mastectomy — surgery to remove the entirety of both breasts.
Then, after having her double mastectomy, she was rushed to the hospital in August 2015 for an “extremely painful fluid buildup in the area where she underwent the surgery” a few months prior, a close friend told Page Six.
“She’s going to be in for a couple of days,” the friend said at the time. “She started having pain. She knew something was wrong. It’s some sort of fluid buildup and pain. She was just feeling general fatigue and run down.”
A few days later, she had another surgery for the post-op infection. She wasn’t able to fully finish her breast reconstruction until 2020 because of various complications.
Today, she is still cancer-free, but she’s still been in and out of the hospital. Earlier this month, she underwent a hysterectomy – a surgical procedure that removes the uterus. She shared in an Instagram that she was meant to have this “intense surgery” after her mastectomy a few years ago, but she “ had repeatedly put it off and then Covid hit.”
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Sadly, this procedure also caused her complications.
“I was so sick, I threw up and cried, threw up and cried. Awful,” she wrote of her third day of recovery.
In fact, she ended up back in the hospital due to her declining condition. That’s when she found out she had an infection and her kidneys were only working at about 30%. (According to the National Women’s Health Network, patients have a 30% chance of complication — typically infection or fever — while in the hospital and a significantly lower risk of more serious complications depending on the person’s condition and the surgical approach taken.)
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Lee added that her infection is most likely from being overly dehydrated, but she was unsure at the time of her post.
“Once they got the IV in, wonderful anti-nausea meds I felt much better,” she wrote. “Ben stayed with me as long as he could, he was so patient.
“Surgeries are so brutal but I’m still glad I did it.”
(Lee’s fiance, actor Ben Youcef, 43, stood by her through her hysterectomy ordeal.)
Lee underwent the preventative hysterectomy because a doctor noticed “a change in some of [her] cells” during a routine appointment with her gynecologist. After going to get a second and third opinion, Lee said those doctors all confirmed the same.
We don’t know exactly what Lee meant by “a change in some cells,” but it could mean that she had precancerous cells (also known as dysplasia) in her reproductive system, such as the cervix.
It isn’t exactly clear what Lee meant by “a change in some cells”; it could be that she had precancerous cells (also known as dysplasia) in her reproductive system, such as the cervix. Pre-cancer is when cells in the transformation zone don’t suddenly change into cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Instead, the normal cells of the cervix first gradually develop abnormal changes that are called pre-cancerous.
It should also be noted that Lee tested negative for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. These genes help cells repair their DNA damage. Having a change, or mutation, in one of these genes increases a woman’s risk of developing breast and gynecological cancers.
We also don’t know if Lee underwent a partial (leaving cervix in tact) or complete hysterectomy. Either way, it’s not uncommon for breast cancer survivors to have surgery to prevent the possibility of gynecological cancers.
Understanding Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a common cancer that has been the subject of much research. Many women develop breast cancer every year, but men can develop this cancer too – though it is more rare, in part, due to the simple fact that they have less breast tissue.
Screening for breast cancer is typically done via mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer. And while mammograms aren’t perfect, they are still a great way to begin annual screening. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends women begin mammogram screening for breast cancer at age 45. Even still, we know that a breast cancer diagnosis can come at any age.
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
It’s also important to be on top of self breast exams. If you ever feel a lump in your breast, it’s important to be vigilant and speak with your doctor. Voicing your concerns as soon as you have them can lead to earlier cancer detection which, in turn, can lead to better outcomes.
There are many treatment options for people with breast cancer, but treatment depends greatly on the specifics of each case. Identifying these specifics means looking into whether the cancerous cells have certain receptors. These receptors – the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and the HER2 receptor – can help identify the unique features of the cancer and help personalize treatment.
“These receptors, I like to imagine them like little hands on the outside of the cell, they can grab hold of what we call ligands, and these ligands are essentially the hormones that may be circulating in the bloodstream that can then be pulled into this cancer cell and used as a fertilizer, as growth support for the cells,” Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.
One example of a type of ligand that can stimulate a cancer cell is the hormone estrogen, hence why an estrogen receptor positive breast cancer will grow when stimulated by estrogen. For these cases, your doctor may offer treatment that specifically targets the estrogen receptor. But for HER2 positive breast cancers, therapies that uniquely target the HER2 receptor may be the most beneficial.
Contributing: Sydney Schaefer
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