Former supermodel Janice Dickinson, known for her fierce and fiery personality, showed a more vulnerable side in an interview with the Daily Mail on Monday, revealing that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Dickinson was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) on March 12, days after her doctor found a lump.
“When the doctor found the lump, it hurt,” the 61-year-old said. “When the doctor touched this little lump in my right breast, about the size of a pea, and I went ‘bingo, I have cancer.’ “
The cancer, which Dickinson’s doctor caught in its early stages, is the most common type of non-invasive breast cancer. DCIS is not seen as life-threatening but can increase the odds of developing invasive breast cancer, according to Breastcancer.org.
This information, however, does not stop the fear.
“It’s still quite shocking,” Dickinson said. “I just get very scared, and it hit me.
“But I am not gonna let that define me, the fear.”
The model and reality TV star hopes to use her experience to inspire others, saying she’s found the reserves of strength that all women have.
“Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m gonna stick around for a long, long time,” she said.
Dickinson has been engaged in a different kind of battle over the past two years.
In November 2014, she accused Bill Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1982 and later sued Cosby for defamation after he labeled her claims as a lie.
“There’s no way to put into words the depth of the misery, pain and humiliation … that I and the other women and all women and men that have gone through unconsented, non-consensual drugs and rape,” Dickinson said.
