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Wanda Sykes recently revealed she battled breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. The comedienne taped an appearance on “Ellen” and discussed for the first time ever that she had breast cancer. Sykes told Ellen that she went in to have breast reduction surgery in February, but that’s when the cancer was detected.

“I found it through … I was having a breast reduction, actually” in February, Sykes says. “I had real big boobs, and I just got tired of knocking over stuff. Every time I eat … Oh Lord. I’d carry a Tide stick everywhere I go. My back was sore, so it was time to have a reduction. It wasn’t until after the reduction that in the lab work, the pathology, that they found that I had DCIS in my left breast. I was very, very lucky because DCIS is basically stage zero cancer. So I was very lucky. But cancer is cancer.”

Sykes said she could have gone in every three months for a checkup, mammogram and MRI:

“But, I’m not good at keeping on top of stuff,” she adds. “I’m sure I’m overdue for an oil change and a teeth cleaning already. I have a lot of breast cancer history on my mother’s side of the family, which I didn’t know about.”

So she decided to have a bilateral mastectomy:

“I had both breasts removed and because now I have zero chance of having breast cancer,” Sykes says. “It sounds scary up front, but what do you want? Do you want to wait and not be as fortunate when it comes back and it’s too late.”

The episode airs on Monday.

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