In a week that saw a New York Jets quarterback get punched, Deflategate reach extremely boring proportions and Colin Cowherd’s beer launched, it’s nice to have the week end on a good note. Last month, ESPN reporter Shelley Smith tweeted that she is free from cancer. Now a new video is out which documents Smith’s latest diagnosis.
https://twitter.com/ShelleyESPN/status/632247548619714561
Smith was diagnosed with cancer in May of 2014, but only went public last October. In a new essay posted on ESPN’s public relations site, Smith tells of a group of filmmakers who wanted to tell her story about breast cancer and she agreed:
But then, as we talked, we realized we could, perhaps, do something really amazing with my upcoming post-treatment mammogram — to be done using a new a 3D technology machine — actually document proof positive that I was cancer free and show how it all works.
Smith said the filmmakers went through the process of interviews and setting up to film her mammography:
“They interviewed my friends at the gym, my friends in my life and my daughter, Dylann Tharp, who wouldn’t let me watch her interview, but who was so amazing and I now know why she didn’t want me sitting in on her session: We both would have been sobbing. She so expertly articulated what this experience was like for both of us. I know it was harder on her than me, and I also know I wouldn’t have been as strong without her.
Then suddenly it was the next morning — the morning of the mammogram. I was edgy and anxious. I had been told I was cancer free, but this would prove it – in 3D no less – or in the worse-case scenario, that I still had a battle on my hands.
I agreed to let the crew shoot the mammogram and the ultrasound because I wanted to show that what little pain there is lasts for about 30 seconds, and showcase the new technology, which, as Dr. (Patricia) Sacks (of Torrance Memorial Hospital) explains, is able to slice through the image to better see what’s going on.”
Smith will have to undergo periodic testing and another mammogram in four months to see if she’ll remain cancer-free and she’ll have to do it while working college football games this season.
The documentary, “TRIUMPHANT: A Shelley Smith Story,” was released on YouTube today and you can see how emotional Smith and her daughter were when they were waiting to find out if she was indeed free from cancer.
Here’s the video:
https://youtu.be/AzWnhmfUud0
With all of the negative things swirling around, it’s nice to see something positive as we head into the weekend.
[ESPN]
