A cancer scare forced actress-comedian Wanda Sykes to make a dramatic life decision to undergo a double mastectomy.
Sykes revealed her brush with cancer during an interview with fellow lesbian Ellen Degeneres to air Monday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Sykes, 47, said the cancer was found following a surgical procedure to reduce her breast size.
“This was in February. I went for the reduction. I had real big boobs and I just got tired of knocking over stuff. Every time I eat,” she said.
“It wasn’t until after the reduction that in the lab work, the pathology, that they found that I had DCIS [ductal carcinoma in situ] in my left breast. I was very, very lucky because DCIS is basically stage-zero cancer. So I was very lucky.”
Sykes, who has a family history of breast cancer on her mother’s side, added:
“But cancer is cancer. I had the choice of, you can go back every three months and get it checked. Have a mammogram, MRI every three months just to see what it’s doing. But, I’m not good at keeping on top of stuff. I’m sure I’m overdue for an oil change and a teeth cleaning already.” Source
Sykes and her wife, Alex, are the parents of nearly 2½-year-old twins. She told Degeneres, “I was like, I don’t know, should I talk about it or what? How many things could I have? I’m Black, then Lesbian. I can’t be the poster child for everything.”
Sykes noted that, in addition to LGBT issues, she plans on participating in walks to find a cure for cancer. “I was real hesitant about doing this, because I hate walking. I got a lot of [cancer] walks coming up.”
“I just admire the hell out of you,” Degeneres responded.
