Sportscaster Erin Andrews was on the high of her sport. It was a Saturday morning in New York Metropolis, week three of the 2016 NFL season when Andrews obtained an impromptu name from her gynecologist. “I simply thought, ‘This is not good,’” she tells PS, choosing up the cellphone in a gathering room filled with males. Her suspicions have been quickly confirmed with the information of an surprising prognosis: cervical cancer. “I can not really feel my arms, I can not really feel my legs. I’m completely numb,” Andrews remembers. “Actually the very first thing I stated to my physician was, ‘I haven’t got time for this.’”
Andrews saved her prognosis quiet for the remainder of the soccer season, making it right through the Super Bowl earlier than sharing what she was going by way of. “Once I determined to return out with the information that I had cervical most cancers, I had so many individuals — even good mates — say, ‘I have never been to the physician in endlessly,’” she says. This shortly turned her level of emphasis, as her personal most cancers was detected in a routine check-up.
Regardless of the preliminary shock, Andrews feels fortunate to have caught the most cancers so early. “Yearly earlier than my season begins, I’m going and I get checked,” she says, crediting her mother for educating her the significance of constant appointments. “As a result of I caught it early, we have been capable of deal with it.”
That stated, Andrews understands why many individuals aren’t followers of check-ups. For some, it is a mere inconvenience, however for others, the doctor’s office is usually a main source of anxiety. “There’s such a worry of going to the physician since you do not need to get unhealthy information,” Andrews says. Even she will relate to that. “Once I was driving to the appointment, I used to be so near canceling as a result of I believed to myself, ‘The visitors’s unhealthy,’ however in all honesty, I simply did not need to hear I had something.”
This worry of prognosis is simply a part of the issue, with a latest survey from AstraZeneca revealing that almost all of Individuals aren’t conscious of the present most cancers screening suggestions. To boost consciousness, Andrews is partnering with AstraZeneca to launch Screen: a limited-edition t-shirt that emphasizes the significance of routine most cancers screenings and encourages extra folks to “get physique checked” in opposition to most cancers.
“I actually nearly bailed out of a dermatologist appointment this previous week, however I believed to myself, ‘I have never gotten my pores and skin checked in endlessly. I am getting older. I am within the solar. My grandfather had melanoma. I have to be sensible about this,’” Andrews says. For early detection and optimum remedy, these screenings are essential — they might even save your life.
The underside line? It is time to overcome your worry of the physician and schedule that check-up, even in the event you do not assume something is incorrect. “I’m so grateful that I’m going get checked each single yr,” Andrews says. “Due to that, my most cancers was treatable.”
Chandler Plante (she/her) is an assistant well being and health editor for PS. She has over 4 years {of professional} journalism expertise, beforehand working as an editorial assistant for Individuals journal and contributing to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group.