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I was just considering whether I should get my first mammogram. We’re hearing so much about this very prevalent cancer during this month of breast cancer awareness, and it makes me wonder if it’s something I should look into. Now that I’ve heard that E! correspondent Giuliana Rancic was diagnosed with breast cancer at 37 (she’s a year younger than me), I’m definitely considering it. Rancic revealed her diagnosis, which was made in August, this morning on The Today Show. She explained that she had a mammogram prior to her third round of IVF treatment after her doctor insisted on it. Luckily her cancer was caught it very early, but it sounds like she’s gone through so much in the past few months. She’s set to have surgery and radiation over the next few weeks.
Giuliana Rancic had an announcement to make during a Monday morning appearance on The Today Show — but it wasn’t the one she or anyone wanted or expected.
Instead of a happy pregnancy announcement, Rancic, 37, told Ann Curry: “I have early stage breast cancer.” The E! News host and Giuliana and Bill star made the frightening discovery back in August, as she was preparing for her third attempt to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization.
Rancic explained that her doctor sternly insisted that she get a mammogram before going through with the third IVF treatment. (The pregnancy hormones could “accelerate the cancer,” Rancic recalled her doctor as saying.)
The star, who said she has no family history of breast cancer, “wasn’t prepared to get a mammogram until i was 40 years old,” she admitted. “I never in my wildest dreams expected anything to be wrong.”
When the hospital called a few days later to tell her the shocking news, Rancic admits she was immediately “sobbing…It was like the world just crashed around me.”
But a visibly emotional Rancic assured fans, “I will be okay, because I found it early. I’m doing surgery this coming week, and then I go to radiation for six and a half weeks.”
At her side throughout the ordeal is husband Bill Rancic, 40. “Bill is unbelievable,” Rancic gushed. “He lets me cry when I want to cry. He just lets me feel what I want to feel.”
And the spouses of four years are determined to continue in their attempts to conceive once Giuliana’s medical isseus are resolved. “I’m not gonna give up,” she said. When she does get pregnant, “That baby will have saved my life,” she mused. “There’s some master plan. Now I know that [God] was looking out for me.”
She urged all women to get tested for breast cancer. “I think a lot of us think we’re invincible,” she said. “We have to start putting ourselves on the to do list.”
[From US Weekly]
That’s pretty shocking. Giuliana explained on The Today Show she was initially against getting a mammogram and tried to argue against it to her doctor. She does have an aunt who is a breast cancer survivor, but explained that she went through prior testing for the breast cancer gene and she’s not a carrier. For as much as I don’t like Giuliana, she’s doing a incredibly good thing here by reminding us to get checked. All the pink ribbons and very helpful reminders I’ve been seeing these past month were not as convincing to me as hearing Giuliana tell her story.
Giuliana and her husband Bill are shown on 10/14/11. Credit: Fame
Best of luck to her, both with her treatment and with her attempts to have a baby.
Eso está DE LA CHINGADA!!! (That’s really f***ed up!)
Oh my gosh! I don’t know what to say. I wish her a full recovery.
Not that the drug companies will ever admit it, but I am suspicious that her breast cancer was caused by the mass doses of hormones she was given during her IVF treatments.
She is young, has no immediate family history of cancer and tested negative for the breast cancer gene. A causal connection with her IVF treatment is a real possibility.
HRT hormones have been linked to cancer, so why not IVF hormones? This possible link should be investigated, especially since a pregnancy can accelerate cancer cell division.
I am delaying my test as well but I really should get around to it. My grandmother was diagnosed with BC to late and it scares the hell out of me.
I hope she pulls through
I wish her well and hope she has a quick recovery.
This is so scary…especially because it seems like she takes care of herself. I know people knock her for her weight, but I assume she’s just very health conscious.
I wish her well in all things – and I agree that the ivf hormones might be a factor here.
No one is safe from cancer. My 27-year-old friend died last year from ovarian cancer. She had a 2 year old daughter.
Stories like that are the wake up call that I needed to be tested and to never again skip that yearly pain-in-the-a$$ appointment with the gynaecologist.
Why are you scared of getting a mammogram? An alternative is a breast sonogram/ultrasound, which is cheaper so some insurances cover it more readily than mammograms.
I feel terrible for her… Dealing with an eating disorder, trying to have a baby, and now this.
She is someone who is a celebrity that I really believe leads a hard life.
Monthly exams are important too. I have a family history of breast cancer and got a mammogram at 35 but your breast tissue is dense and it is hard to tell. It helps but doing monthly self exams is the best.
That is why they say to wait until 40 for a mammogram because your breast tissue is less dense and they can see more things.
Ladies please get a mammogram, I was going to wait until I was forty and I had a friend talk me into getting one four years ago and thank god I had some precancerous growths, I had the biopsy and everything was okay, but what if I had waited four more years who knows how the outcome. And yes before that I thought it doesn’t run in my family so why bother, but guess what cancer doesn’t care.
I dont understand why anyone would put off a mammogram. It’s not painful and takes 5 minutes.
I’ve had two in my life and I’m not even 33.
I volunteered at the Making Strides Breast Cancer Walk yesterday, and there were SO MANY young women who have been affected by this cancer. Seeing the spirit of everyone there was inspiring, but it was so sad to realize how many tousands of people have suffered because of breast cancer. Get checked!!
Best of luck to her. There’s a suspicion that one of my beloved family members might be suffering from breast cancer as well, although the results of her tests haven’t arrived yet. But what ever the results will say, I support what she’s doing right now, and I support the cause in general.
But she’s still heinous and insufferable. Sorry, Giuliana. 🙁
My God!!! I don’t like her either but from now onwards, I love her. I was virtually crying reading this. I pray that the mighty Hands of the Most High be with her in this trying period. Please should someone below 30years go for that test???
@ Chloe … please get a mammogram? Do your research and you’ll learn that mammograms INCREASE your risk of BC … that’s what the industry wants. Have thermography or another scan, but avoid mammograms. Read The Natural News … Google it. And radition causes more cancer, and so does chemotherapy.
Her entire body form has never seemed right. She might be a bit irritating but not a bad person and her husband seems to love her. I do hope that she gets through this and that its not just the begining of a manifistation of a long term struggle with her health.
@ The Truth Fairy.. Totally agree w/ you regarding Drug Companies. I wonder how much that played into her diagnosis.
Cancer runs in my family, I survived OV twice and bladder, all three at a young age. BUT I already had been pumped w/ so many medications for bladder complications that weren’t cancer..so many in my family still wonder if that played into my health
I hope she beats her cancer..
I wish her all the best! Hopefully she will be okay and have her baby one day. It is a great way to look at the situation the way she does, that the future baby and the struggle to have it possibly saved her life!
Unless there is a referral from a physician for a palpable finding, most doctors won’t order mammograms before age 40 because younger women’s breasts are so dense and mammography is not as effective with dense breasts. Most of the time ultrasound is recommended. Because she’s been on so many hormones and she is close to age 40 is likely why her doctor recommended it. There are many types of breast cancer, some not as serious and very treatable. Hopefully this is what she has.
It is known that IVf can increase the odds for cancer.
I hate to be judgmental, but a person who wants to conceive should start by something obvious like putting on some more weight.
Going through IVF is something extreme to the body, and I applaud any woman who would go through that to become a mother, but that woman should so her part- which is make sure she is not under-weight.
How shallow those people in LA must be, if they would go to a third round of treatments, but would rule out gaining weight.
Having said that, I hope she is well and wish her health and becoming a mother.
Cancer is awful and not to be taken lightly.
I still can’t stand her.
I feel bad for her… emotionally she has been through the ringer. I’m glad it was caught early and really hope she is successful in having a baby.
I wish her the best – BUT. If she found it in August and she’s just getting surgery in the end of October? That seems dangerous to wait. I have two friends in the last 12 months who were diagnosed. They had surgery within 2 weeks, and both were early stage too. I guess she may have had chemo to shrink the tumor before surgery, but it makes me nervous she has waited this long.
I lost two dear friends to breast cancer, a few other friends got it, I had a lumpectomy myself (benign). I hate this damn disease and hope she has a good result from treatment. I too wonder about all these hormones people take, not surprised if they bring cancer on, she is pretty young to have it.
@Scarlett. I debated on whether I should even respond to you. I went against my better judgement and here we go. I did google what you said about mammograms. Except for that it’s not proven that they cause an increase in breast cancer. There was only one study done that shows this. Are you also one of those people that say AIDS isn’t real?
Wow she’s gone through so much with her hopes for a baby and now this. I’m glad Bill is there for her and I pray that at the end God will bless her with a baby who will make her forget all the pain. She’s a strong woman and I respect her for it all.
Wish her all the best!
Of course these personal anecdotes increase awareness and make us want to take more precautions, but as a public health professional, I urge you to defer to your doc! Your age and family history will determine your need for screening, and insurance is unlikely to cover any tests that are not considered appropriate for your personal situation.
Me – Preach! Her doctor actually told her to put on 10 lbs, and she refused, saying she could only put on 5 because of her “industry.”
(It probably also would have helped her through the radiation/chemotherapy rounds.)
My prayers are with her.
I think she’s lying for sympathy or to take heat off the criticism she gets for being a stick figure who promotes the practice of under-eating.
@Scarlett: You are exposed to more radiation at the airport than you get from a mammogram. I have a friend who encouraged her mom to avoid mammograms, and she ended up having breast cancer that could have been caught earlier if she had listened to her dr.
It’s sad how much we believe in popping pills for every little thing.
When I lived in Europe, I’ve learned a lot about
eating organic food, using organic beauty and cleaning products that don’t have chemicals linked to cancer.
They use wonderful herbs that are standardized by the government and have less side effects than synthetic drugs.
Nothing is perfect.
I have to admit that they are way ahead of us when it comes to nutrition and a good healthy lifestyle.
No wonder we have such high rate of cancer, parabens are in so many products for women : make-up, beauty and cleaning products.
Im a radiology tech and I would recommend ultrasound. One of the basic things you learn in this field is that low doses of radiation are dangerous. It doesnt have the strength to penetrate the body and exit for the most part. It sits in the area irradiated. Radiation is a form of energy, and continues to carry on (damaging cells). Small doses of radiation on a piece of tissue like a breast is just dangerous. I wouldnt recommend those “backscatter” scanners at airports either.
I LIKE THEM AS A COUPLE…CUTE…BEST OF LUCK!
At least the chemo will give her an excuse for her hair loss, and she can deny that it’s from malnutrition from starving herself/purging/laxatives.
Not that I want her to die of cancer. I hope she beats it, and it sounds like she caught it early and her odds are very good. But many people lose weight and hair during chemo, and she had already lost too much to begin with. Cancer is a major health problem, but so is anorexia, yet she — and surprisingly, her husband — doesn’t seem to care about THAT health risk at all.
I started having mammograms at 28 because my mother, maternal grandmother and aunt all had breast cancer. I didn’t do gene testing until I was 37 and found out I was a carrier. Knowing allowed me to make some choices about my life that I was putting off.
I’d encourage every woman to get a mammogram. Doctors go by statistics, but statistics can be wrong. It’s your body. Your choice. If you want one, get one.
Never been a fan of hers, but I wish her a full recovery & hopefully one day a baby too. I’m also convinced the IVF hormones had something to do with the cancer — and kudos to her doctor for insisting on the mammo, maybe knowing about a link.
This is a sobering reminder to get my mammogram, I am due for one again.
My thoughts & prayers are with her.
@Fairy, I’m a doctor and I completely agree with you.
@christine, i am a 37 year old breast cancer survivor who was treated at sloan kettering here in nyc. i consider them to be top notch in field of cancer & never questioned any of their advice. i was diagnosed in august and my surgery was scheduled for november. it was caught early & none of the doctors felt that i should rush into a decision i would regret. it’s now 2 years later & i am cancer free. there is no reason for anyone to rush into anything when it comes to cancer unless your doctor specifically tells you there’s reason to do so.
I hope she gets well soon.
She was so poised and lovely on the Today Show this morning. Wishing her the best…she and Bill seem to be so very much in love.
Interesting. I read her work out and eating schedule a while back where she practically works out every day, eats veggies, kale juice… and she still gets cancer. I really wonder what triggered it.
@bettyboop – Thanks for the response and sharing your story. Best wishes to you!
Back in August she was diagnosed. She’s just now getting surgery around October 20th or so. Strange. I hope she didn’t delay surgery and radiation for her career.
I happened to watch her interview this morning. I was stunned. The emotion in her made me tear up. I’ve always liked her.
I was watching the Today Show this morning so I saw her announce it. The mood was very somber so I thought for sure she was going to say she miscarried again. I was shocked when she said it was breast cancer. She just seems so young to me.
@Fairy, I thought the same thing this morning about IVF possibly increasing breast cancer risk. And she only went through 2 rounds so can you imagine the women who go through it again and again?
I have been performing Mammography for 17 years and have seen it save many lives. I also have seen what happens when women do not get Screening Mammograms regularly.
The goal of Screening Mammography is to find the early cancers, when it is more easily treatable.
Ultrasonography is NOT the standard of care for Breast Cancer Screening because it does NOT detect the early cancers, it misses them completely. That is why Ultrasound is not widely used as a Screening tool. Breast Ultrasonography is used in conjunction with Mammography when an abnormality is either felt or seen on an image. Most insurances will not cover Screening Ultrasounds.
Ladies, know your facts!! Screening Mammography saves lives. Baseline between ages 35-40 and yearly after 40. Also, Digital Mammography is LOW-DOSE, meaning the amount of Radiation is minimal. You will get more radiation from riding in an airplane or a day at the beach than a Screening Mammogram!
Stop making excuses and get your Mammogram. It could save your life one day!
What about the hormones in birth control? Is there a link to that and breast cancer? Or any cancer for that matter. Many women start birth control young and could take it for up to 10 years or more.
Research the ugly truth behind mammograms. It is proven that mammograms yearly increase your risk of getting breast cancer. Low doses of radiation are dangerous. Dont be fooled by fancy digital technology. It doesnt give as clear and accurate images as film mammos do. Get an ultrasound. Doesnt matter what insurance doesnt cover. My insurance doesnt cover jack, but I still get seen when I need to.
One thing that no one EVER says when they release news like this and then go on about “getting tested early” — IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE. If you don’t, good luck with that. America is grand, ain’t it?
Its the estrogen. Estrogen is dangerous when you have an overabandunce. It needs to be balanced out. Practically everything we eat and touch has estrogen xenohormones.
Ladies, one way to try to prevent any cancer is to eat well.
Organic raw broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, parsley, spinach, basically the dark green organic veggies help to balance estrogen levels in the body.
Many medications, pesticides and synthetic hormones increase estrogen levels.
Eat 80% plant based diet : organic raw veggies and fruit, organic raw nuts and seeds : almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and organic basmati brown rice, wild rice, organic quinoa, organic raw almond butter.
The 20% that is left can be wild salmon, organic chicken, turkey and organic eggs.
Also organic dark chocolate at 70% cocoa is a good and healthy snack.
Cancer screening is very important, but prevention is the key! It can save lifes.
She’s just the picture of anything for fame, revealing every moment for the cameras and using cancer as a career move, and doing any horror to her body for vanity. About half of what she’s doing, Anna Nicole Smith had in her resume too.
I just wish she’d relax, gain a little weight, and quit the endless televised IVF treatments. Destressing and normal weight get you pregnant.
Virtually impossible to believe the endless hormone treatments, punishment of her body through all that televised exercising and dieting and her general desperation aren’t contributors here.
How awful! With all the additives & hormones in food it’s so important now more than ever to get these “middle-aged” tests done earlier. Also – watch your Soy intake!! I know a lot of people see it as a super food & I don’t want to sound anti-soy because I’m not but it’s been linked to Cancer in men & women. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that it’s in just about everything. Read your labels!!!
Am I the only one who finds it terribly selfish that people like this waste thousands of dollars and doctor’s time via IVF and Invitro when the world is terribly over populated and there are plenty of deserving and perfectly love-able children in need of a home that could be adopted? Why are people so narcissistic that they need their own DNA to be replicated in order to feel important?
I am also weary of hormones in such massive doses and believe that they might very well play a role in cancer cell growth. Not to mention that this woman has not exhausted all of the options a woman should explore when experiencing infertility such as nutritional therapy and weight restoration! Of course I feel sorry for any woman who has to deal with cancer, but hopefully she will come out the other side with a greater regard for her own health and take better care of herself. Perhaps she will even open herself up to the idea of adopting and stop putting her body and mind through the ringer of IVF/Invitro.
ceasar:October 17th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Good advice, but know that you can do everything you’ve stated here, and still get cancer. There is no magic bullet. Linda McCartney was a vegetarian.
This is terrible news! I too think it was the IVF treatments. I wish her the best and a fast recovery. Hopefully, they will decide to adopt.
i.want.shoes-
A yearly trip to the gynecologist will not detect ovarian cancer. The pap smears you receive at your appointment can detect cervical cancer, but not ovarian cancer. Currently, there is not a screening test for ovarian cancer the way there is for breast cancer. My mother passed from ovarian cancer at 62 so my doctor orders yearly ultrasounds for me but these are not standard for most patients. Most women aren’t diagnosed until ovarian cancer is in an advanced stage b/c the symptoms are very subtle.
Most breast cancers do not have genetic markers, so while a family history does increase your risk, a lack of family history does not mean you can’t be at risk.
Ladies, let me tell you — a mammo is NOTHING. If you can go to the dentist and get a tooth filled, you can get a mammogram. Sensitive breasts? Pop a couple asprin a few hours before your appt. (don’t schedule your test right before/during your period if sensitivity is a real issue). A mammogram may be awkward as hell, and it’s certainly not the most comfortable position you’ll be in all day, but truly it is NOTHING. Most of your 10-15 visit will be spent getting, ahem, “rearranged” on the machine so the tech can get the clearest image. You will not spend a total of two minutes actually being compressed. The whole thing’s over in a SNAP.
Bring a friend for moral support if you want. Then go out to lunch, buy the girls a pretty new bra and make an appt. for next year’s mammo. You’ll be glad you did, and wonder why you put it off so long.
Get checked at any age, never too early. My little sister discovered a lump at 21, she was later diagnosed with breast cancer. this was after doctors swore it was nothing, they actually told her to wait awhile, and once more time passed she went back. They told her it was nothing but they could remove it as it was a little bigger. She opted for removal and that’s when they tested it. She had breast cancer. Shortly after, underwent chemo, had both breast removed along with lymph nodes and then radiation. Followed by a reconstruction. She’s 5 years cancer free. It can happen to anybody, at any age. Get checked. It’s more painful when you’re young and haven’t had kids because your breast are firmer but deal with it, I did. Just thought I’d share.
Hope she pulls through. Best of luck to her I can’t imagine how hard it is to get cancer. All the best to any cancer survivors out there reading right now
First off I wish her the best of luck. Second, shame on the people downgrading her for “using her fame ” in this situation.
I spent 5 years working for a surgical oncologist and I have seen and heard some of the weirdest exuses when it came to breast cancer. One went the “natural ” route opting for an ointment to bring out the cancer ….and it did ….through her skin. She came to us in unbearable pain with metastases to the brain. She died 2 weeks later. Another lady refused surgery due to her boyfriend would leave her. She also lost her battle.
Yes chemo and radiation is very hard on your body and yes losing your breasts is devastating but you can get new boobs. You can’t get your life back when it’s gone.
There are so many causes of cancer hormones especially can make some types of breast cancer grow. They do test all of these things when the tumor is removed.
To poster #22. I am underweight (not by choice, just high metabolic rate, I guess) and had 3 naturally conceived pregnancies and even delivered a baby that was almost 9lbs.
Do not assume someone who is thin who has fertility problems have themselves to blame due to vanity. Nicole Ritchie was thin as a rake and she has had 2 kids. I know plenty of overweight people who have problems conceiving.
This woman always seems to cop a lot of flack just for being thin. I’m so sorry to hear she’s sick – she seems to be a nice person but has a lot of problems right now.
@ Ruffian9 :
There are certainly no guarantees in life.
But there is nothing wrong with having a healthy lifestyle.
Maybe the best lesson from this poor woman’s diagnosis is that we humans don’t put enough trust in nature.
Let’s be honest and admit that human beings are very flawed and what we create is also often flawed.
I believe in modern medicine, but I also believe in living a life that is closer to nature.
I just look at my grandparents, they don’t eat anything that comes out from a box.
There is nothing wrong with having a healthy lifestyle.
It’s not a magic bullet, but what is???
Less chemicals in everything is a good thing.
I have to admit that I’m very thin, I never exercise, because I’m too lazy, I rather read a book.
I had a very difficult time getting pregnant, but I refused the drugs and hormones.
There is a lot of side effects associated with hormones and medications.
I worked with a naturopathic doctor for 4 years and it happened all naturally with organic diet and supplements, we have two beautiful, healthy babies today.
If she really wants babies she should work out less and eat better, so she could gain 15-20 pounds, it might just help.
It did for me.
I know women are obsessed about weight, but she can loose it after, many millions of women do.
Better than being pumped with synthetic hormones.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned here is PARABENS in make-up and body care products, studies are showing strong link between cancer and PARABENS.
Please read labels and educate yourself, be your own advocate.
It’s important to have a good doctor, but they can’t be with you 24/7 to guide you!
My best wishes to her and her family, I hope all goes well!
Bromide, (in bread, wine, fruits,veggies), flouride (in water)
and Chlorine (in water), these are the main chemicals that are causing these problems, endocrine issues,cancer
Stop eating bread, drinking flouride and get a showerhead that blocks chlorine, , eat organic fruits and veggies, no red meat.,,, the three halogens, (flouride, bromide, chloride) that interfere with the thyroid….
Only drink organic wine.
Nancy
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