Shanice Reveals That She Has Been Diagnosed With Breast Cancer After Avoiding Mammograms Throughout The Years!

90s R&B singer Shanice is opening up about her journey with breast cancer after a previous misdiagnosis led her to avoiding mammograms for eight years!

While appearing on ‘Good Morning America‘ Shanice explained that she had endured a previous health scare in her mid-40s after doctors thought they had detected a cancerous lump in her breast. However, the lump was later determined to be a cyst as doctors determined that no further testing would be required.

Out of fear and traumatization, Shanice decided against scheduling annual breast cancer screenings for a total of eight years. “Because of the fear that I had when they thought they saw something, I didn’t go for eight years.”

The 51-year-old shares that she has dense breast tissue makes it more complicated to detect breast cancer, reports the National Institutes of Health.

Earlier this year in March, Shanice said that she felt a lump in her breast and decided to schedule a mammogram. She says that a mammogram and subsequent ultrasound detected cancer.

In May Shanice says she underwent surgery after she was told that she had a stage 1, once-centimeter tumor in her breast, reports ABC News.

Doctors initially believed that she had ductal carcinoma in situ which occurs when cancer cells only appear in the lining of the milk ducts and haven’t yet spread to other parts of the breast. Shanice says that doctors conducted a double mastectomy.

“When I had my surgery and they told me I had cancer, I literally lost my smile,” Shanice said. “But I wanted to come on the show to encourage women that you have to keep smiling. I got my smile back.”

Shanice shares that she hopes utilizing her platform to share her story will help motivate women to understand the importance of scheduling an annual screening for breast cancer. She notes that early detection is extremely important, especially for Black women.

According to ABC News, Black women are 38% more likely to die or undergo worse circumstances regarding breast cancer oppose to women of other races at any stage.

“I just want to tell women out there, put that fear aside,” Shanice said. “If you get checked early, you can beat this thing. It’s not a death sentence. If you can get there early, you’ll live.”