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Erin Andrews Gets Support From ‘DWTS’ Family After Secret Cancer Battle

By Victoria Miller
Published on: 21:50 PST, Jan 24, 2017

Erin Andrews has revealed a big health secret. The NFL sideline reporter and Dancing With the Stars co-host has revealed that she secretly battled cervical cancer during last fall’s season of the ABC celebrity ballroom competition. In an interview with Sports lllustrated’s MMQB, Andrews talked about her surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles last October. Erin said she told her oncologist she had no intention of battling cancer during football season.

“I’m not watching any football games at home. This is [Fox’s] Super Bowl year, and I’m not missing the Super Bowl,” Andrews said.

Dancing With the Stars fans may recall that Erin Andrews missed several tapings of the show last fall. Host Tom Bergeron told viewers that his co-host took time off to support longtime love Jarret Stoll and his family after his 17-year-old nephew was killed in a car accident.

Aside from two missed DWTS tapings, Erin Andrews didn’t miss a beat. Two days after her surgery, Erin was in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she filmed a feature with Packers player Jordy Nelson. A few days later, Andrews was back to work on the sidelines of the Packers-Cowboys game at Lambeau Field.

“Should I have been standing for a full game five days after surgery? ” Erin asked. “Let’s just say the doctor didn’t recommend that. But just as I felt during my trial, sports were my escape. I needed to be with my crew.”

The trial Andrews is referring to is the $55 million civil lawsuit she won against the Nashville Marriott after a man followed her to her hotel room and secretly filmed her while she was nude.

“After the trial, everyone kept telling me, ‘You’re so strong, for going through all of this, for holding down a job in football, for being the only woman on the crew,'” Erin told MMBQ. “Finally I got to the point where I believed it too. ‘Hey, I have cancer, but dammit, I am strong, and I can do this.'”

Erin Andrews kept her cancer diagnosis a secret from her friends and co-workers. Even Bergeron and the rest of the Dancing With the Stars family were unaware of her health crisis. An insider told Us Weekly that Erin’s recent announcement is the first time people are hearing about her cancer diagnosis.

“Honestly, everyone really did think she took time off to support her fiancé’s family when his nephew died,” the insider said. “It was a totally understandable reason to miss tapings. Tom [Bergeron] even made a comment on the air about sending condolences to the family. She never mentioned her diagnosis, never mentioned she had surgery.”

Now that she has gone public with her cancer news, Erin Andrews is getting support from her DWTS family. In a statement to People, Erin’s co-host Tom Bergeron said his friendship with Andrews has been one of the “true gifts” of his career and that he adores her.

Pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy also had kind words for his former DWTS partner.

“I know Erin is a strong person and I’m happy that she keeps overcoming these incredibly difficult obstacles with a smile on her face,” Chmerkovskiy told People.

And DWTS pro Witney Carson, who had her own scare with melanoma back in 2013, said: “I know how much cancer sucks and how tough it is to get through. But Erin is a rock star and I love her. My prayers and thoughts are with her.”

After two surgeries at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center this past fall, Andrews’ doctor told her that she was cancer-free and will not need chemotherapy treatments. And just as she promised, Erin is set to cover Super Bowl LI for Fox when the New England Patriots play the Atlanta Falcons on February 5. Erin Andrews will also return as a co-host When Dancing With the Stars returns for its 24th season on March 20.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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