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CNN‘s Christiane Amanpour had visited plenty of war zones in her decades-long career as an award-winning journalist — but battling cancer was an entirely different challenge.
Last year, Amanpour, 64, revealed that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and went on to have surgery and chemotherapy before entering remission.
Back at work — including reporting from Ukraine last month — Amanpour is now warning others about the ‘invisible killer’ that is ovarian cancer.
‘I’ve spent my career covering genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, wars in Afghanistan, Iraq — all really dangerous stuff. And I’ve survived all that. But this is very different,’ she told People.
Christiane Amanpour, 64, was diagnosed with stage 2 ovarian clear cell carcinoma on May 5 of last year and is now in remission
‘I’ve spent my career covering genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, wars in Afghanistan, Iraq – all really dangerous stuff. And I’ve survived all that. But this is very different,’ she said
Amanpour was getting her annual screening last April when a doctor found a grapefruit-sized cyst on her right ovary.
‘I was shocked. I immediately asked if it was malignant. They told me, “You have to have an MRI, a CT scan, more blood tests. I can just tell you what we’ve seen,”‘ she recalled.
After further testing, she was diagnosed with stage 2 ovarian clear cell carcinoma on May 5 of last year.
Only 20 per cent of ovarian cancers are found early, with the disease often discovered at stage 3 or 4, leaving many women hopeless of options and with low survival rates. Amanpour was one of the few whose cancer was caught early.
Unlike breast cancer, ovarian cancer does not have a screening and can oftentimes be mistaken for small health problems, such as urinary tract infections, bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, trouble eating, menstrual pain, or pain during sex.
The award-winning journalist underwent surgery and 18 weeks of chemotherapy and has been back at work (pictured at the 2019 International Emmy Awards Gala)
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Amanpour has covered major crises in countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea
*Amanpour is stressing the importance of early detection – especially of ovarian cancer, known as a ‘invisible killer’
Following surgery, Amanpour underwent 18 weeks of chemotherapy and saidshe let friends and family take care of her, which was a different experience for her.
‘I allowed myself to be vulnerable and feel those normal emotions,’ she said.
But she didn’t have much downtime, and was already back reporting from a war zone in Ukraine in March.
She is also using her position to spread awareness about cancer screening.
‘Ovarian cancer is known as the invisible killer. Get all the scans that you can. We women know better what’s going on with our own bodies than anybody. We can trust ourselves. If there’s something wrong, pursue it,’ she said.
Embracing her good health, Amanpour added that she is now ‘thinking about how I want to live the rest of my really good years.’
Amanpour revealed her diagnosis on air last summer after ungergoing surgery
‘Two years of COVID, cancer, and chemo have cramped my style in that department. But now I have a whole new lease on life; I’m looking forward again!’ she said, addining that her ‘brush with mortality’ has even made her want to persue dating.
She was married to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs James Rubin from 1998 to 2018.
Amanpour revealed her cancer diagnosis last June, on her CNN International show, shortly after she underwent surgery.
‘I’ve had successful major surgery to remove it, and I am now going through several months of chemotherapy for the very best possible longterm prognosis, and I am confident,’ she said at the time.
Amanpour, who lives in the UK, said she was fortunate to have health insurance through work and offered words of praise for doctors treating her through the UK’s ‘brilliant’ National Health Service.
Ovarian cancer can disguise itself as common health problems women face frequently, including: bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, an upset stomach, back pain, and menstrual changes
‘I am telling you this in the interest of transparency, but really as a shout out to most early diagnosis,’ Amanpour said, urging women to get all ‘regular screenings and scans,’ listen to their bodies and ‘ensure that your legitimate medical concerns are not dismissed or diminished.’
She reiterated the need for screenings ahead of her final chemo session in September.
‘Many women — sadly, but true — are often, and too often, are kind of fobbed off as hypochondriacs,’ she said on GMA. ‘It’s really hard to get to that first ultrasound, that first test, that can tell you sometimes if things are amiss.’
‘So what I really want to say — and this is the only reason why I went public — is because I want women to understand, they must pay attention to their bodies, of whatever feels abnormal to them in what they know to be their body’s normal state. And they need to pursue it,’ she said on GMA.
Amanpour insisted on being checked out when she felt unwell.
‘I would not be swayed when I felt a pain that was unusual and I pursued it until the very end of getting my first ultrasound, which is the benchmark for then having a baseline to know whether you’ve caught it early in time,’ she told GMA.
‘Ovarian cancer mimics some other issues, whether it’s a UTI, or whether it’s irritable bowel syndrome or whether it’s just bloating.’
*5
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Amanpour has covered major crises in countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea.
She has won a range of TV journalism awards, including 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards and four Peabody Awards.
She has been at CNN off and on since 1983, beginning as an entry-level desk assistant and rising through the ranks to become the cable news network’s chief international correspondent, as well as the anchor of a self-titled daily interview program.
In 2010, Amanpour left CNN to ABC News, which tapped her to anchor This Week, but she returned to CNN in 2012.
In 2018, PBS announced that Amanpour permanently would replace Charlie Rose, who left amid allegations of sexual misconduct. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been hosting her PBS show Amanpour & Company from her home in London.
Source: dailymail
