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Joan Lunden, Journalist and TV Character, Nonetheless Advocates for Breast Most cancers Consciousness
Journalist and former Good Morning America cohost Joan Lunden considers her breast most cancers analysis a present — and by chronicling her breast most cancers journey publicly over time, she’s making a proud legacy.
In a March 2024 Immediately Present interview, Lunden, 72, recalled her mindset within the wake of her analysis after deciding to convey the general public alongside on her journey. “In that second, I modified myself from a sufferer into an advocate … and that made that most cancers battle a lot simpler to undergo.” And now, she says, her social media followers inform her, “You took the scary out of it for me.”
Lunden’s most cancers journey began when she had her annual mammogram in early June 2014, and the end result was damaging. She additionally had her typical follow-up ultrasound as a result of her breasts have dense, fibrous tissue. This time, nevertheless, a tumor was recognized in her proper breast, which a core biopsy later confirmed to be most cancers.
“I sat there shocked — how may this be?” Lunden shared in her weblog. “I thought of myself match and wholesome, I get checked faithfully yearly, and I didn’t have a historical past of breast most cancers in my household.”
She took instant motion and underwent chemotherapy adopted by a lumpectomy and radiation. On the similar time, Lunden, whose father was a most cancers surgeon, is utilizing her expertise to boost consciousness concerning the significance of breast most cancers screenings, breast self-exams, and early detection.
“I do know I’ve a problem forward of me on this journey, nevertheless I’ve chosen to take it as a possibility to satisfy my father’s legacy and attempt to encourage others to guard their well being,” she wrote in her weblog.
