Months after securing the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, tennis star Gabriela Dabrowski revealed she had been battling cancer during the iconic sports event.
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In a post on Instagram, Dabrowski stated she was diagnosed with breast cancer in mid-April 2024. However, she admitted that she delayed treatment in order to continue competing.
“In the Spring of 2023, I felt a lump in my left breast during a self-exam,” she explained. “A few months later, a doctor told me it was nothing and not to worry. So I didn’t. Time went on, and in spring 2024, I thought the lump was a little bigger.”
Dabrowski continued to share that during her WTA comprehensive physicals, one of the doctors told her they weren’t sure what the lump was, and they wanted to do some scans.
“First, a mammogram… second,d an ultrasound… Third… a phone call from the radiologist reading the images,” she further recalled. “Alerting me to a lump that did not look like a cyst due to its uneven edging and shading.”
The preliminary results of the biopsy revealed that her left breast showed cancer.
“These are words you never expect to hear,” she shared about hearing the diagnosis. “And an instant your life or the life of a loved one turns upside down.”
Following the diagnosis, she had two surgeries at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. She also went through rehab.
After delaying further treatment to compete in the Olympics and Wimbledon, she started endocrine therapy.
She reassured her social media followers that she was ok after the two procedures.
Gabriela Dabrowski Kept Her Diagnosis Quiet to Avoid Making Breast Cancer Her Identity
While continuing to open up about her breast cancer journey, Gabriela Dabrowski said she has kept the diagnosis private so it wouldn’t be part of her identity.
“For a long time, I wasn’t ready to expose myself to the possible attention and questions I’d have gotten before,” she stated. “I wanted to figure everything out and handle things privately with only those closest to me in the loop. There were so many unknowns and so much learning and research to be done.”
The athlete said she is currently in a place where she has a better grasp of her treatment and side effects as well as how to treat them.
“Please know I am fully aware of how lucky I am as well,” she pointed out. “Because many do not get the luxury of being able to tell their story at all.”
Dabrowski went on to add that her cancer diagnosis has changed her perspective.
“To cancer, I say f**k you, but also, thank you,” she declared.