CNN’s Sara Sidner Reveals That She Is Being Treated For Stage Three Breast Cancer

Ted Johnson
·3 min read
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CNN anchor Sara Sidner told viewers that she is being treated for stage three breast cancer, even as she continues in her network duties.

In a segment on CNN News Central, Sidner fought back tears as she relayed her experience.

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“I have never been sick a day in my life. I don’t smoke. I rarely drink. Breast cancer does not run in my family,” she said. “And yet here I am with stage three breast cancer. It is hard to say out loud.”

She said that she is in her second month of chemotherapy treatments and will undergo radiation and a double mastectomy.

“Stage three is not a death sentence anymore for the vast majority of women, but here is the reality that really shocked my system when I started to research more about breast cancer, something I never knew before this diagnosis. If you happen to be a Black woman, you are 41% more likely to die from breast cancer than your white counterparts. Forty-one percent. So to all my sisters, Black and white and brown out there, please for the love of God get your mammogram every single year. Do your self exams. Try to catch it before I did.”

Sidner disclosed her diagnosis in an interview with People, in which she said, “I just made a decision. I’m like, ‘No, you’re going to live and you’re going to stop this and you’re going to do every single thing in your arsenal to survive this. Period.’ And I have been so much happier in my life since … I mean happier than I was before cancer.”

Sidner also serves as senior national correspondent, and has continued to work throughout her treatments. She co-hosted the network’s New Year’s Eve coverage. Before her biopsy, she traveled to Israel to cover the war with Hamas.

“Seeing the kind of suffering going on where I was and seeing people still live through the worst thing that has ever happened to them with grace and kindness, I was blown away by their resilience,” Sidner told People. “In some weird way, it helped me with my own perspective on what I am going to be facing.”

Sidner began co-anchoring the morning edition of CNN News Central at its debut in April. She previously has been an international correspondent.

Last month, NewsNation anchor Nichole Berlie announced her breast cancer diagnosis. She said that she intended to keep working as much as she could.

She told viewers, “I’m hopeful that seeing my journey will help someone, whether they are also battling cancer or if they have a loved one who is, because cancer truly touches all of us in some way. I know so many people understand this journey. I have gone through every single emotion and if you ask if I’m scared, I absolutely am. But I’m choosing to stay positive. I’m gonna keep a smile and I absolutely have faith.”

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