Erin Andrews went through more last year than most people go through in a lifetime.
The FOX Sports NFL sideline reporter’s 2016 began with the conclusion of her civil trial against a Nashville Marriott near Vanderbilt University, where a stalker filmed her changing through a peephole and posted it online. Andrews won a $55 million verdict and eventually settled in April, but the incident understandably still haunts her.
And things didn’t get any better when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October.
In a recent interview for Sports Illustrated’s MMQB published Tuesday, Andrews revealed her diagnosis, which she worked through while telling virtually no one. Andrews had surgery in Los Angeles on Oct. 11 and was determined not to miss any time on the sidelines.
“I’m not watching any football games at home,” Andrews told her oncologist, per SI’s Emily Kaplan. “This is (FOX’s) Super Bowl year, and I’m not missing the Super Bowl.”
Two days after her surgery, Andrews was on her way to Green Bay to report on the Packers’ game against the Dallas Cowboys. And that Sunday, she was on the sideline, just as she said.
“Should I have been standing for a full game five days after surgery?” Andrews said. “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.”
Her crew noticed she wasn’t herself, however, when she often went back to her hotel to lie down after work, and soon after Andrews told them about her cancer.
“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,’” Andrews told Kaplan. “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.’”
Two weeks later, Andrews had another procedure, and on Nov. 17, she found out she wouldn’t need radiation or chemotherapy. But while Andrews told Kaplan she believes she relates to the players more because of everything that’s happened to her, Andrews’ father is just thankful it all seems to be over.
“I gazed out the window and quietly wept,” Steve Andrews said after his daughter’s final cancer results came in. “Such an incredible weight had been lifted off her shoulders. I try not to think about what happened to her too much. But when I do, and I consider the enormity of what Erin has endured, I’ll often just sit down and cry.”
Thumbnail photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
