Janice Dickinson is known for her fiery and outspoken personality but she was speechless after discovering she had breast cancer.
Janice Dickinson is known for her harsh criticism and not being afraid to speak her mind. She never held back on America’s Top Model and has always had a sassy answer to everything. After going public with her breast cancer diagnosis, however, the 1980s catwalk star showed a vulnerable side of herself as she broke down while discussing her health.
That being said, she remained strong as ever as she insisted that she didn’t want pity from others.
Janice Dickinson regretted breast implants after cancer diagnosis
Janice, 68, was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in March 2016, days after her doctor discovered a lump in her right breast during a routine examination.
The model found out about the condition in its early stages. DCIS is a common form of breast cancer that begins in the milk ducts and it is non-invasive, meaning that it did not spread and had a low risk of being invasive.
Dickinson’s family has a history of breast cancer – her mother passed away from the condition.
“When the doctor found the lump, it hurt,” she told Daily Mail. “It became quite painful when you touch it. That’s the point when I knew this is serious, when the doctor touched this little lump in my right breast, about the size of a pea, and I went, ‘bingo, I have cancer.'”
Janice, who has breast implants, feared she would require a double mastectomy, but luckily it was not necessary. That being said, Janice later told ET that she regretted going under the knife as implants make it harder to detect breast abnormalities.
“If I had to play my life over again, I would have never gotten breast implants in the first place,” Dickinson admitted. “I didn’t need to have a mastectomy, although I’m so aggressive as just Janice being Janice that I said, ‘Take them out! Take them out, cut them out! Just take them out now!'”
The supermodel had the breast augmentation at age 32 and appeared on a 2014 episode of Botched to replace the three-decade-old implants. Her demands for pain medication led to accusations that Janice had “classic drug-seeking behavior” from her surgeon, Dr Terry Dubrow.
Janice Dickinson didn’t want any pity
Although she was shocked and terrified of her diagnosis, the ‘world’s first supermodel‘ wanted to gather the same strength as other women who had defeated the condition.
“But I am not gonna let that define me, the fear,” she declared at the time. In fact, she wanted her experience to inspire others.
“Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m gonna stick around for a long, long time,” she vowed.
Janice declared she was cancer-free by August 2016 after months of radiation treatment and two lumpectomies, which are surgeries to remove cancerous tissue from the breast.
“The radiation is over. I’m cancer free. Cancer-schmancer!” she celebrated.
Her biggest supporter was and still is her husband Rocky Gerner. They had to postpone wedding planning due to her health complications but they tied the knot at the end of the year.