Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43… after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney

Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney

As I reflect upon Guerrero’s poignant journey with breast cancer, I find myself deeply moved by her courage and resilience. Her story is a testament to the human spirit’s ability to navigate through the most challenging of circumstances with grace, determination, and an unwavering will to live.


Previously associated with E! News as a correspondent, Kristina Guerrero, aged 44, openly discussed her battle against the invasive breast cancer she was diagnosed with in the beginning of 2023.

Following a regular breast examination (mammogram), her physicians requested additional assessments upon discovering a lump (cyst) in her breast.

Despite being a graduate from the University of Southern California, she remained unconcerned. Given that there was no past occurrence of breast cancer in her family, she believed it to be remnants of scar tissue from a prior surgical procedure.

The mother of two shared with TODAY.com that she hadn’t expected breast cancer would become an integral aspect in her personal narrative.

‘It didn’t run in my family. I didn’t know anybody with breast cancer.

Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney

Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney

A few weeks went by without hearing from her doctors and she figure she was in the clear.

She remarked, “This feels quite unusual, as diagnoses typically don’t take this much time.” She added that she had assumed, given the severity of her concerns, they would have reached out to her directly.

She clarified that the delay was due to the fact that it was an unusual type of breast cancer, specifically angiosarcoma.

An Angiosarcoma is a relatively uncommon type of cancer originating from the cells that surround and make up the inner walls of blood or lymphatic vessels.

They sought multiple expert reviews – from the second, third, and even fourth professionals – before acknowledging that the condition was an extremely uncommon, aggressive form of cancer.

Johns Hopkins explains that Angiosarcoma is a relatively uncommon type of breast cancer, making up only 0.1% to 0.2% of all breast cancer cases. It primarily affects both the breast tissue and the skin of the arms. The cancer originates from the blood or lymphatic vessels within the breast and has a tendency to grow and metastasize rapidly throughout the body.

In her role as a journalist, she emphasized that it fell upon her to encourage women to undergo mammograms and share news-related stories rather than becoming the subject of the stories herself.

Every October that rolled around, she would remind herself, “It’s time for the annual mammogram check-up.” In an effort to treat herself, she aimed to schedule her appointment near her birthday.

Upon learning about her cancer diagnosis, the doctors didn’t categorize its stage. Instead, they mentioned that they detected it quite early on in its development.

She shared that she had been diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer, which required immediate removal. Her breast surgeon emphasized the urgency, saying, “The most crucial aspect is to remove this from you swiftly as it’s a highly aggressive form of breast cancer.” Consequently, within just a few weeks, she underwent a lumpectomy.

According to Guerrero, they found an egg-sized tumor, about as big as a robin’s, and it was cancerous. Upon examination of the outermost layers of what was removed, there were still cancer cells present, suggesting that the cancer might have spread further.

So a week later she was back on the surgeon’s table for a mastectomy.

She mentioned that everything moved quickly ahead. Following the mastectomy, we took out the cancer. However, for complete certainty that it’s no longer present, radiation therapy might be necessary.

For six weeks following her operation, Kristina underwent daily radiation therapies, which she now describes as dreamlike or unreal.

Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney
Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney

She stated that it felt like wading through thick syrup, as she navigated between two different worlds. On one side, she continued to go to work. Simultaneously, she remained at home.

At times, I find myself thinking, “I am currently battling cancer, specifically an uncommon type of breast cancer, which has the potential to take my life.

Instead of walking through molasses, she titled her short documentary “A Trip Through Treacle,” capturing her personal journey.

She describes the movie as ‘uncooked,’ explaining that it’s a 15-minute short about her breast cancer journey, narrated from an unusual mental state she found herself in during that period.

She aims to pass it on to other women, especially Latinas, since they are statistically more likely to receive aggressive diagnoses, even though their overall diagnosis rate is lower compared to white women.

Warrior no longer battles cancer and visits her physician every half year for examinations to confirm that the cancer hasn’t resurfaced.

Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney
Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney
Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney
Kristina Guerrero details battle with aggressive breast cancer at age 43... after a thriving career interviewing stars like George Clooney

In simpler terms, Guerrero stated that for women of color, particularly Latina women, it’s been repeatedly shown that we tend to delay early detection due to lack of awareness about the risks of breast cancer in our bodies, leading us to disregard these concerns.

And she hopes all women understand the importance of yearly mammograms. 

Guerrero expressed his hope that others would understand he hadn’t anticipated this situation, but unfortunately, it occurred as he had said.

‘I want people to acknowledge that it can also happen to them. But they can go on and live, if they go and get their mammograms.’ 

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2024-10-08 01:41

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