Actress and Breast Cancer Survivor Giuliana Rancic, 49, Flaunts Latest Clothing Line, and the Bold Move She Made To ‘Take Stigma Away’ After Breast Cancer

How Mastectomies Can Impact Your Cancer Risk

• TV Host and entrepreneur Giuliana Rancic, 49, showcases her clothing line in collaboration with the Home Shopping Network. The mother of one and cancer survivor continues to accomplish her goals and inspire other cancer warriors more than a decade after beating cancer.
• Rancic was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 after a fortunate turn of events caused her fertility doctor to pursue a mammogram revealing the cancer.
• During treatment, Rancic chose to undergo a double mastectomy (removal of both breasts) and go public about her cancer journey to remove the stigma around getting a mastectomy.
• A prophylactic, or preventative, mastectomy is an operation where the breast tissue is removed to prevent cancer from developing in the future. Women at high risk of breast cancer, such as women carrying the BRCA gene mutation, which elevates cancer risk, may consider this option.

TV host Giuliana Rancic, 49, is brightening the summer with her new line of clothes and apparel. Today, the breast cancer survivor and mother of one is living up to a vow she made while undergoing treatment for breast cancer years ago, “I will come back a better woman.” Rancic shared a short video clip of her alongside her business partner Jamie to showcase the “The G by Giuliana x BeautyBio 48-House Takeover.” Supportive fans ate up Rancic’s excitement. “Great collab between two amazing women,” Instagram user Gentry Blackwood. Rancic’s success is her latest accomplishment since overcoming the hurdles associated with breast cancer. After she was diagnosed and prepared for a double mastectomy (removal of both breasts) for treatment, she wanted to do something bold and help other women in a similar situation.

“I would like to take the stigma away. ‘Mastectomy’ the word seemed so scary to me at first,” Rancic told E News. “After doing research and seeing the advancements, the surgery has come a long way from 20 years ago. The results can be incredible. Not only can it save your life, but you can come out feeling healthier and with a positive self-image,” Rancic added.

Expert Resources on Mastectomies

• Beautiful and Badass – Survivor Explains Why She Got Mastectomy Tattoos
• For Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy, Women May Choose ‘Now,’ ‘Later,’ or ‘Never’
• Implant Reconstruction After a Mastectomy: The Options
• Is a Preventative Mastectomy Right for Me?

Rancic, 49, might never have had the mammogram that saved her life if she and her husband, Bill, hadn’t been experiencing infertility. Watch a snippet of Rancic’s story. “My husband and I had been married a few years,” she explained. “We had this unexplained infertility for a couple of years there, where no one could tell us what the problem was,” the “E-News” host explained. Rancic saw a fertility specialist whose protocol required all his patients to get a mammogram before treatment began. “I’m 36 years old,” she recalls asking the doctor. “Are you sure I need to get one?” His response surprised her: “My job is to get you pregnant,” he said. “And, if you do happen to have breast cancer that is fueled by hormones, that’s the last thing I want to do for you.” Rancic, who had no family history of breast cancer, was diagnosed in 2011. “I was perfectly healthy,” she said.

Despite the immense shock and fear that showered Rancic and her husband, the couple saw the silver lining in that the cancer was caught early, making it very treatable. “I truly believe that this was all part of a bigger plan,” Rancic told SurvivorNet. “The ‘why’ was because I wasn’t meant to be pregnant. I would have had this breast cancer that I wouldn’t have known about, and I don’t know where I would be today. It was actually a blessing that I got that mammogram at 36 years old,” she added. “It’s so important to be proactive about your health and to take your health into your own hands,” Giuliana previously told SurvivorNet. “Sometimes it’s intimidating, and you feel like, you know, your doctor’s really busy, they have so many appointments to get to, and you have all these questions go in with the questions prepared or in your phone so you can easily access them and ask those questions that are important to you.”

What to Consider When Considering a Mastectomy?

A prophylactic, or preventative, mastectomy is an operation where the breast tissue is removed to prevent cancer from developing in the future. “Risk-reducing mastectomies are an operation where we take women at, usually, very high-risk for getting breast cancer for genetic mutation carriers, who are the ones at the highest risk; there’s unfortunately only one way to actually prevent breast cancer,” Dr. Elisa Port , Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System, tells SurvivorNet. “Women who are found to test positive for a genetic mutation really have two options,” Dr. Port explains. “One is what’s called high-risk surveillance, which means we check them every six months or so mammograms, MRIs with the hope that if God forbid, they develop breast cancer, we pick it up early. But that’s not prevention; it’s early detection. “Early detection is a goal; it’s not a guarantee. For the woman who wants to be more proactive about actually preventing breast cancer, or as we say reducing her risk, unfortunately, the only way to do that is to remove the actual tissue at risk, and that is the breast tissue,” she adds. Some women decide to have their breasts reconstructed and have implants put in right after the mastectomy, while others don’t have reconstruction at all. The benefits of a prophylactic or preventative surgery are:

• Significant reduction in cancer risk (from 80-90% to 1-2%)
• Nipples can often be spared
• Women can get reconstruction at the same time

What Goes into Deciding to Get a Mastectomy?

When a woman decides to have a mastectomy, several factors go into that decision. Among things to consider is whether to have breast-conserving surgery such as a lumpectomy. These decisions should be made alongside your doctor by openly and candidly discussing risks vs. benefits. “A double mastectomy typically takes about two hours for the cancer part of the operation, the removing of the tissue,” Dr. Port said. “The real length, the total length of the surgery, can often depend on what type of reconstruction [a patient] has,” Dr. Port continued. Other factors that weigh into the decision to get a mastectomy are the size and features of the tumor and your family history. However, the gravity of your decision comes into full view, especially if you choose to get a mastectomy and remove both of your breasts. WATCH: Regaining your sense of self after reconstruction. Some women decide to have their breasts reconstructed and have implants put in right after the mastectomy, while others don’t have reconstruction at all. Dr. Port added that most women opt to have some reconstruction. The length of these surgeries can vary greatly. When implants are used, the procedure can take two to three hours (so the total surgery time would be around five hours). There is also the option to take one’s own tissue (usually from the belly area) and transfer it into the breast area during reconstruction.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you’re facing the option of having a mastectomy, here are some questions to consider asking your doctor:

• What can I do to prepare for a double mastectomy?
• What happens before and after the procedure?
• For reconstruction, what are the benefits of using implants over my own tissue and vice versa?
• What should I know about implants? Should I opt for preventative surgery?
• What will recovery look like after the procedure?
• What are the benefits of a watch & wait approach vs. preventative surgery?
• What kind of surveillance is required after the surgery?