Breast Cancer Survivor Rebecca Crews Shares Her Pre-Cancer Intuition: ‘I Just Kept Having this Strong Feeling’

“I just kept having this strong feeling,” Crews says in a new interview with Health.

And that intuition also guided her further, after her diagnosis.

“I had this thought: ‘Rebecca, what if they do find something? Be radical. Cut it off. Don’t play.’ Three days later, they called me with the news that it was cancer,” she says.

Again following her gut instinct, she proceeded with a double mastectomy.

Rebecca’s Breast Cancer Battle

Crews says the surgery was successful, too. “Within a month I was in surgery. They got everything out. My reconstruction went off without a hitch,” she says.

Related: Terry Crews' Wife, Rebecca, Fought Cancer During the Pandemic; Now the Family Finds Their New Normal

Crews was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer in 2020 following a mammogram and ultrasound. Today, she is cancer-free, thanks to screenings and early intervention.

When it comes to a mastectomy, Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, says in an earlier interview that she likes to present patients with options.

“So when I talk to a woman who comes to me and she has breast cancer, I evaluate what the standard options for treatment for her are, which typically include cutting out the cancer– which is either a lumpectomy if you can get it all with just a little scooping around of the area that’s abnormal or a mastectomy for some women meaning taking the full breast because sometimes these lesions can be very extensive in the breast,” Dr. Partridge says.

“And I’ll talk to a woman about that and I’ll say these are two main options or the big fork in the road,” she says. “Depending on the size and other features, such as family history, a patient may opt for more aggressive surgery.  And so even for early stage one breast cancer, a woman may elect a mastectomy to remove her whole breast.”

When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?

A Supportive Partner Through Cancer

Crews’ husband is actor Terry Crews, and he took on the role of caretaker after his wife Rebecca was diagnosed. Having a support partner or supportive community, like family and friends, is helpful while battling cancer.

Actress Jill Kargman, who battled melanoma, says in an earlier interview how she believes a cancer diagnosis can be a litmus test for a relationship.

Related: 'Faith, Family, and Friends' Helped Beverly Reeves Get Through Ovarian Cancer Treatment

Kargman says, “I think cancer is a great way to find out if you’re with the love of your life or a shithead. I think it presses the fast forward button on getting to the bottom of that answer, because a lot of people in middle age are kind of at a crossroads, waiting for their kids to fly the coop.”

“And I think if you’re with someone who is not supportive and kind of emotionally checked out or doesn’t tell you you’re still beautiful with that, this might not be your person,” she says.

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