Erin Andrews Has This Encouraging Message for Anyone Putting Off Cancer Screenings

Erin Andrews, FOX Sports NFL reporter and television personality, knows firsthand that making time for a routine cancer screening can be lifesaving. Nearly a decade ago, she learned she had cervical cancer after staying on top of her recommended screenings . Although she admits that doctor appointments and waiting for results can still be anxiety-ridden, she has a direct message for anyone tempted to put them off: "Do it for yourself. Do it for your family."

That experience is also behind her partnership with Cancerguard , a blood test that complements routine screenings and can detect signals associated with more than 50 cancer types and subtypes, including cancers without recommended screening options. (Current traditional cancer screening methods/guidelines are only for four types of cancers: breast, colorectal, cervical, and lung, high-risk, according to the American Cancer Society's recommended guidelines .)

Before the start of the new NFL season, Andrews spoke with The Healthyabout early detection and the health habits that help her keep up with a demanding broadcasting career.

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The Healthy:Can you tell us what inspired you to become a sports broadcaster? What did you like about it?

Erin Andrews:Probably the connection to my dad, which always breaks me up talking about it just because he's my main man, he's my best friend, and it's the reason why I do what I do, because I love it so much. My dad was a TV reporter for probably over 40 years, and he is such a great storyteller. Sitting and watching games with him, he would tell the stories about the players, the coaches, the organizations, the history of the teams and make them feel like they were my best friends. So I grew up thinking Magic Johnson and David Ortiz were my best friends. It was just so fun to follow along with my dad.

The Healthy:Why did you want to get involved in this Cancerguard campaign?

Erin Andrews:I think Cancerguard really resonates with my life and my journey with cancer, also my dad's. My dad had prostate cancer before I was diagnosed with cancer, and he found that in a routine screening. I found my cervical cancer in a routine screening. Cancerguard is such a big thing right now. Early detection is so key. I learned with me coming out and saying I had cervical cancer, you shouldn't die from this cancer. If you treat it early, you hopefully have a great chance of beating it, but early detection is key and it's key with most cancers.

Cancerguard is a multi-cancer, early detection blood test, and it's huge. It tests for 50 cancer types and subtypes, which is amazing. It's a simple blood draw, and normally when we go, we're getting tested for one thing or another thing. These test for 50 cancer types, the subtypes. I thought what was fascinating was sitting down with Cancerguard's team. They were talking about many of the cancers that currently have no recommended screening options—70% of cancers currently have no screening options. It's not like when we go get a mammogram or when I got tested for cervical cancer. That's why Cancerguard is so great because it assists with the routine screenings. We're not saying that it's taking over for that, but it's a compliment to it.

The Healthy:It's been nearly a decade since your cancer diagnosis. When you look back at it now, how does it continue to shape the way you approach your health?

Erin Andrews:I'm a psycho with my health. I really am. I went and did red light therapy yesterday just because I feel like taking care of yourself mentally and physically is such a big thing and good thing. You don't have to be a sideline reporter getting ready to leave your family for six months—just being a mom, just being somebody who works and out there in the field, you put a lot of stress and strain on your body.

I try to be really, really good about waking up early. I went to a Pilates class today before the first day of school for my son. I'm putting my health first, whether it's working out, whether it's doing a test like Cancerguard to see how I'm doing, whether it's doing the IV drips or the LED lights.

The Healthy:People may postpone screenings or checkups because they're busy or anxious—

Erin Andrews:Or scared.

The Healthy:Right. Or think they're in good-enough health. As a survivor, what do you want others to know about that?

Erin Andrews:You have to go to the doctor. Listen, I need to go get a certain screening done that I haven't done, not my mammogram—I'm up on that—but it's frightening. I have anxiety going to do it, I'm not going to lie. I go get my regular checkups at the cancer center and I sit there and I feel like I'm going to pass out half the time. That's just me being honest.

There's nothing pleasant about it, but I'll tell you what's pleasant is being able to walk out of the doctor's office, give my family a thumbs-up and say, "I checked that box. We're going to get the results in a couple weeks," which is also nerve-racking. You're sitting there and you're like, "Oh my gosh, please don't tell me something's going to come back." But you need to go. I was able to find my cancer, have a couple of surgeries to get rid of it because I went and I did routine screening.No one wants to make the time. It's very, very scary, but you have to do this for yourself. Do it for your family. You don't want to call them with bad news. Be proactive. You have to be.

The Healthy:Is there anything that surprised you about the early detection testing?

Erin Andrews:The one thing that surprised me more so, not just the blood test, which was easy for me to do, was the fact—I got to say this again—nearly 70% of cancers currently have no recommended screening options. That is insane. So many of the deadliest cancers, including pancreatic , ovarian, liver, and on and on, currently lack screening options. Wow. That's incredible. So Cancerguard can help that, obviously, with routine screening. I just find that fascinating.

The Healthy:It sounds like a miracle.

Erin Andrews:We'll take all we can get, right?

The Healthy:Between your podcast [Calm Down with Erin and Charissa] and your show 99 to Beat with Ken Jong, audiences are getting to see sides of you that they may not see during an NFL broadcast. What have you enjoyed about stepping into these different roles?

Erin Andrews:The podcast is fun for me. I do it with my best friend, Charissa Thompson, who's also a female in this industry. We film it on Mondays and it's a way for us to catch up with a crazy week that we've had, not only with our families, our significant others, maybe any house drama we're going through, which I'm going through right now, but our jobs, which is a full-blown reality show at best. So that's really fun, and I think it's a cool way for men and women to sit back if they're interested in football, [and] if they're not, if they're interested in relationships, ups and downs, raising a 3-year-old, they can come and sit down and listen to us for a bit. I have 15 seconds on the sideline so I don't really get to get into my kid having all fours on the ground when I need to wipe him at a local grocery store.

99 to Beat starts soon this month. We're on Wednesday nights, 9 to 10 [Eastern]. It's season two, we're so excited—there's a million dollars on the line. It's fun. It's comical. Some of the old funny games are back, and we have some new twists and turns. I'm looking forward to it.

The Healthy:It's going to be another busy NFL season. What has especially excited you about this upcoming season and how do you keep yourself healthy this time of year?

Erin Andrews:It is going to be exciting. The news that Aaron Donald is coming back here to L.A. to be a part of that stacked Rams team just has me so pumped. Anytime you get to cover somebody that's considered to be one of the best who's ever played that position is an honor. I'm so excited see him in action.

The Healthy:How do you keep yourself healthy?

Erin Andrews:I try to work out every single day. There's some days I can't make it, but I really try to take that time. I know it's so important for my mental health, for my physical health, just to get a good sweat in , start the day happy, ready to go. I always think of Reese Witherspoon and Legally Blonde talking about working out and the endorphins.

I really try to stay up on my health and make sure I get the doctor's appointments. I try to do those in the offseason. I'm doing all the peptides with my son just going to school today. I'm going to stock up on some immune situations, all my vitamins. I really, really do try to take time for my health because it's a strain traveling as much as we do, being in hotels on the road, living out of a suitcase, late nights, burgers, beers at a bar after a game. You got to take care of yourself at some point. Probably should limit the burgers and the beers, but you got to live, right?

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