Wanda Sykes Reveals Breast Cancer Battle; Underwent Double Mastectomy

Wanda Sykes is known for cracking jokes, but during a visit to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” she revealed something very serious.

“I had breast cancer,” Wanda told Ellen in an episode of her talk show airing Monday. “Yeah, I know it’s scary. It is. I found it though.

The star explained that she discovered the cancer when she went in for a cosmetic procedure.

“I was having a breast reduction, actually. This was in February. I went for the reduction,” she continued. “I had real big boobs and I just got tired of knocking over stuff. Every time I eat, ‘Oh lord,’ I’d carry a Tide stick everywhere I go. My back was sore so it was time to have a reduction.”

Despite the scare, Wanda said she was “very, very lucky.”

“It wasn’t until after the reduction that in the lab work, the pathology, that they found that I had DCIS in my left breast… DCIS is basically stage zero cancer. So I was very lucky. But cancer is cancer,” Wanda told Ellen. “I had the choice of, you can go back every three months and get it checked. Have a mammogram, MRI every three months just to see what it’s doing. But, I’m not good at keeping on top of stuff. I’m sure I’m overdue for an oil change and a teeth cleaning already. I have a lot of breast cancer history on my Mother’s side of the family, which I didn’t know about.”

The funnylady, who is the mother to 2-year-old twins Olivia and Lucas with her wife Alex, was faced with a tough decision.

“I had both breasts removed and because now I have zero chance of having breast cancer,” she explained. “It sounds scary up front, but what do you want? Do you want to wait and not be as fortunate when it comes back and it’s too late.”

Wanda who is not known for holding her tongue, said she was a bit reluctant to speak out about her battle with cancer.

“I was like, ‘I don’t know, should I talk about it or what?’ How many things could I have? I’m black, then Lesbian. I can’t be the poster child for everything,” she said with a laugh. “At least with the LGBT issues we get a parade, we get a float, it’s a party. I was real hesitant about doing this because, I hate walking. I got a lot of walks coming up!”