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Hannah Storm of ESPN’s SportsCenter is receiving so many prayers this week after she revealed her frightening diagnosis.
The “SportsCenter” co-anchor spoke with Robin Roberts about her health issues and opened up for the first time about her battle with breast cancer.
It all started when the mom of three daughters realized she had not undergone a mammogram in more than one year. Following the routine, she would undergo an ultrasound and a biopsy before doctors reached a diagnosis.
Hannah Storm said Tuesday on “Good Morning America” that she was diagnosed in January with ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS. That is a type of breast cancer in which the cancer cells have not spread beyond the breasts’ milk ducts.
It is known as stage 0 breast cancer.
Storm said she was “shocked” and “scared” by the diagnosis.
“I was shocked because, again, I had had mammograms every year. I have no risk factors. I have no breast cancer in my family. I did not have a lump. I did not have pain. I don’t have any genetic predisposition to breast cancer,” Storm said on “GMA.” “And what I came to learn is the vast majority of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer don’t have risk factors, and so I’ve got to say I was shocked. I was scared.”
She continued, “I was very, very lucky because they found it so early.”
Fans took to social media to send their prayers:
Hannah Storm added that she will be taking tamoxifen, for the next three years. She said she underwent a successful lumpectomy and is now considered by her doctors to be cancer-free.
By disclosing her own diagnosis, Storm aims to inspire other women to undergo yearly checkups for breast cancer.
“I know so many people who don’t have mammograms, who are scared to have them. I don’t want them to be scared,” she said. “I want them to be scared not to have this information.”
According to the National Library of Medicine, Tamoxifen is a hormone therapy drug used in women who have had DCIS to “reduce the risk of developing a more serious type of breast cancer.”
Hannah Storm Has Been Mainstay On ESPN For Over 15 Years
Hannah Storm is an award-winning journalist, producer, and director, a pioneer in the field of sports broadcasting for women. She joined ESPN in 2008 and now serves as an anchor for SportsCenter.
The three-time Sports Emmy nominee for Outstanding Studio Host has co-hosted such marquee events as the Super Bowl, Wimbledon, the NBA Finals, the U.S. Open, and the College Football National Championship.
The veteran sportscaster re-signed with the Worldwide Leader in a new multiyear contract extension in 2020.