“Food Network” alum Sandra Lee was depressed after being diagnosed with breast cancer six weeks ago, but is determined to spread the message to women to get regular mammograms.
“On Saturday, I just stayed in bed all day long,” Lee revealed May 13 in a People video diary (see below). “I couldn’t get up.”
Sandra did eventually get out of bed, but quickly returned because she was “too depressed” to leave her room after being diagnosed with cancer.
Sandra will undergo a double mastectomy next week after recently having a lumpectomy.
Sadly, Lee received her breast cancer diagnosis as she was doing a photoshoot for being named one of People magazine’s Most Beautiful People in the World.
Lee, who has been dating New York Governor Andrew Cuomo since 2005, decided to get a double mastectomy even though her breast cancer can be treated with radiation.
“I never want to go through this again,” said Sandra, who hopes her aggressive approach via the double mastectomy will ensure her breast cancer never returns.
Looking ahead, Lee has a lot of anxiety, not so much for herself, but she’s terrified her sisters and brothers may get cancer and won’t catch it early enough. Sandra, 48, has two younger sisters and two younger brothers.
“What worries me about this is not what I’m going to go through – I’m going to be fine,” said Sandra. “We caught it early enough.
“What worries me is my sisters and my brothers, that they could get it and we don’t catch it in time. I cannot tell you enough how important it is to get your mammograms.”
Sandra, who has written more than a dozen best-selling Semi Homemade cookbooks, hopes her story will inspire women to get mammograms so they can catch their breast cancer early.
“I want to advocate for early detection,” said Lee, author of Semi-Homemade The Complete Cookbook.
Sandra is happy and grateful her partner, Andrew Cuomo, has been extremely supportive and will stand by her side during her breast cancer treatment.
In 2011, Lee shocked fans after revealing she was abandoned by her mom as a baby and was later abused by her drug-addict stepfather.
Related: Sandra Lee is cancer-free 4 months after mastectomy