Christiane Amanpour Ovarian cancer has returned for the third time
Appears on the Changing the narrative of ovarian cancer podcast, Christiane Amanpour revealed that her cancer has returned.
“I have it again,” she said sadly. “But it’s very well managed and so this is one of the things that people need to understand about some cancers.”
Amanpour noted that she had “all relevant organs removed” but that it “recurred a few times in a lymph node.”
Amanpour’s doctor, Dr. Angela George, spoke on the podcast to explain that Amanpour’s cancer was a “rare form” of cancer that accounts for less than 10% of cases. She also said that Amanpour is undergoing immunotherapy.
Fortunately for Amanpour, she said the immunotherapy was “the opposite of grueling,” and she has no side effects. She takes pills every day and gets an IV in the hospital once every six weeks.
Since she initially had cancer, Amanpour has undergone routine check-ups every three months, which is how doctors discovered she had cancer for the second and now third time.
“The fact that I am constantly being watched is an excellent insurance policy,” she noted.
While discussing her journey with cancer, Amanpour became emotional and found it difficult to hold back tears.
“I’ve never really asked for help before… and when I did, I got it,” she said. From my family, my friends, my colleagues, from everyone. And it was moving, but it was really helpful, really great.
“It’s really supported me because it’s not just the disease, it’s the state of mind. And to have all these people literally asking me every day how I was doing, how they could help… the community is actually vital and I’m just so lucky to have had that.”
Amanpour was initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer in May 2021. After finding out she had it, she had surgery ten days later and then had 18 weeks of chemotherapy.
As she neared the end of her chemotherapy, she said in a 2021 interview, “Tomorrow is my last session at 18 weeks.” She called the process “grueling, exhausting, exhausting and also emotionally exhausting, not to mention physically, and it can be scary.”
She also thanked those who supported her, saying: ‘Two incredible women, a surgeon and [an] oncologist who took care of me, the incredible support from my friends, my family, my colleagues, my bosses – and that got me through.”
Furthermore, she emphasized that early detection is the key to beating cancer.
“I was not fooled if I felt a pain that was unusual and I continued that pain until the end of my very first ultrasound, which is the benchmark to then have a baseline to know whether you noticed the pain early in time, and therefore cure it – and I use that word deliberately – or not. And whether you should then deal with it and deal with it in the best possible way. I was in the first case,” said Amanpour.
Amanpour also said in April 2022: “Ovarian cancer is known as the invisible killer. Make sure you get as many scans as possible. We women know what’s going on with our own bodies better than anyone else. We can rely on ourselves. If something is wrong, go after it.”
