KCAL9's Sandra Mitchell Talks To Fellow Breast Cancer Survivor Sheryl Crow
BEVERLY HILLS (CBS) — KCAL9's Sandra Mitchell concludes her three-part series on breast cancer -- "1 in 8", so named because one in eight American women will get breast cancer -- with a special interview and profile of Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow.
Five years after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Crow is in Beverly Hills for her regular mammogram.
"I'm five years out," she tells Mitchell, "which is good. I think I'm done... knock on wood."
Crow, reports Mitchell, might be done with the scans and the biopsies and the radiation treatments.
But she is not done spreading the message.
A simple but powerful one: early detection is key.
"I felt like ultimately after I was done with my treatment," says Crow, "my experience was worth talking about...I definitely believe where there's knowledge there's power. Until there's a cure for cancer, early detection and prevention are the best forms of cure that we have."
Crow talked to Mitchell about her advocacy for breast cancer. Mitchell, of course, was diagnosed two months ago.
Says Crow, "I have a very loyal and wide-reaching fan base. I have a great opportunity to talk to people about cancer and prevention and self educating."
Crow was successfully treated at the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills. The breast imaging center there is named after her.
Now, she is using her name and her fame to help others. Crow admits when she first got her own diagnosis it was a show-stopping moment. "It really puts you in your body," she explains, "it makes you look at yourself differently."
An avid runner, Crow realized after the diagnosis she had to be even more vigilant about her own health.
"From that moment on, I never looked at life the same way again. I knew it would never feel the same. For me, it became a lesson in putting myself first and [learning] how to say no and put myself at the top of the list of the people I took care of."
These days, Crow is taking care of two young sons. She adopted her first son, Wyatt, soon after her diagnosis.
Mitchell tells Crow that it's a testament to her resolve that she believed she would beat cancer by going through the adoptive process at the same time.
"I felt like not all my decisions were based in a quiet, centered and serene place," she admits, candidly. "But I knew I wanted to be a mom. I felt like I was put on his planet to be a mom."
And, of course, an entertainer. Mitchell asks if Crow's bout with cancer found its way into her music.
"Your life informs your art and certainly that was such a huge part of my life, it definitely changed the way I looked at my life and lived my life and conducted myself."
Ultimately, Crow reveals, "My prognosis is to go live a healthy life."
