Cancer Touches the 'Housewives'
- Bravo’s hit “Real Housewives” series has seen a spate of cancer touch the lives of its stars, such as NeNe Leakes, Kylie Richards, and Camille Grammer.
- The ‘Housewives’ are instructive for millions of people on the importance of listening to your body; despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to continue cancer screenings during this time and speak to your physician if something doesn’t feel right.
- Coping with cancer-related loss, such as Kylie Richard’s loss of her mother to breast cancer, can be helped with resources like therapy.
Cancer Screenings Through COVID-19
As these ‘Housewives’ have shown, cancer does not discriminate based on wealth or status it affects everyone. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many cancer screenings and treatments have been delayed due to health and safety precautions, as well as overcrowding in hospitals. It’s vitally important to continue screening for cancer through the pandemic so that those facing a cancer diagnosis can get treatment as soon as possible.If something feels off to you, you must listen to your body, as Camille Grammer encouraged others to do. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres, Director of the Leukemia Program at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, said in a previous interview, “What we’ve noticed at our cancer center is that as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we saw our patient numbers drop. We did expect that to some extent. People are fearful of a virus that they don’t understand. And frankly, people are getting conflicting messages about what’s safe to do.”
“Cancer doesn’t wait for a virus to resolve itself before it declares,” said Dr. Sekeres. “Cancer starts on its own and doesn’t slow down because of a pandemic.”
It's Important To Continue Cancer Screenings Through COVID-19
Coping with Cancer-Related Loss
Coping with cancer loss as ‘Housewives’ star Kylie Richards did after losing her mom to breast cancer in 2002 is often a long, and deeply personal process. The journey through grief can be made more bearable with the help of resources like therapy and support groups.
Camila Legaspi said in an earlier interview how she turned to therapy after losing her own mom to breast cancer when she was in high school “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. 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. And I’m so happy that I talked to my therapist. Keep your chin up, and it’s going to be OK. No matter what happens, it’s going to be OK. There are so many of us that have gone through the same thing that you’re going through. And, together, we’re all going to get through it.”
"Therapy Saved My Life": After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
