- Text
Wanda Sykes says she had double mastectomy: Why?
(CBS) Wanda Sykes earns a living making other people laugh, but there's nothing funny about a recent disclosure the 47-year-old comedian made about her health.
Sykes said in an interview to be aired on the Ellen Degeneres Show that she had both of her breasts removed after a form of breast cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ was discovered in her left breast, US Weekly reported.
Doctors made the discovery after Sykes - who has a family history of breast cancer - went in for breast-reduction surgery in February.
"I had the choice of, you can go back every three months and get it checked," she said. Instead, she opted to have a bilateral mastectomy, adding that she now has "zero chance of having breast cancer."
Zero may be a bit of an overstatement. Double mastectomy to cut cancer risk - what doctors call bilateral preventive or prophylactic mastectomy - reduces the risk of developing breast by about 90 percent in women who are at high risk for the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute. Since breast tissue can be found in the armpit, above the collarbone, and as far down as the abdomen, removing the breasts can't completely eliminate the risk of cancer.
Women who have cancer in one breast are likely to develop cancer in the other, according to the institute.
In addition to infections and the other health risks associated with surgery, bilateral mastectomy can cause body image issues that can affect a woman's sexuality. Sykes didn't go there, but she joked about another downside of having cancer that faces many celebrities with the disease:
Going public with the diagnosis.
"I was like, I don't know, should I talk about it or what?" she said. "How many things could I have? I'm black, then lesbian. I can't be the poster child for everything."
WebMD has more on preventive mastectomy.
- Nev. man seeks surgery for 100-pound scrotum
- Annual cervical cancer screening bad idea: Panel
- Pediatricians call TV a no-no for kids under two
- Has America gone crazy for antidepressants?
- Listeria outbreak tied to water, dirty equipment
- Do poor neighborhoods promote obesity, diabetes?
- IQ scores fluctuate dramatically in kids: Study
- Breast cancer rare in men but found later: Study
- What Facebook friends mean for brain size
- "False positive" mammograms common, study shows
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
- Bariatric surgery helps whole family lose weight
- Colon cancer tied to germs: What does it mean?
- Things You Didn't Know About Your Penis
- Oral sex now main cause of oral cancer
- Life-size Barbie's shocking dimensions
- Cantaloupe-linked listeria deaths up to 25
- Ariz. man admits to being Super Bowl porn hacker
- US reps seek new law after raids at Gibson guitars
- Treasury prices swing on Europe debt crisis delays
- British MP to detail new covert ops by News Corp
on Facebook
- Qaddafi dead after Sirte battle, PM confirms
- Sheriff: Missing Ohio monkey believed eaten
- Libyan officials: Qaddafi killed in Sirte
- Sheriff: Big cat bit owner's head after suicide
- Some sales from Bieber's new CD to go to charity
on CBS News