Giuliana Rancic has been pretty vocal since learning of her breast cancer status in October of last year, and she wants everyone to know that the diagnosis has not changed her.
Though the 37-year-old readily admits being a mess from time to time especially upon learning of her illness, “I wanted to yell from a rooftop and cry and scream,” she is putting all things into perspective in the April issue of Glamour magazine.
“At first I didn’t want to look in the mirror, because I felt like, ‘I’m getting better every day and this is about my health, so I shouldn’t get bogged down by what I see in the mirror,’” the “Fashion Police” panelist said.
Not to mention, her husband, Bill Rancic has been there along for the tedious journey to help her cope and redirect any angst.
“He goes, ‘We’ve got to make a list and figure out the pros and cons of a lumpectomy with radiation and anti-estrogen therapy, and the pros and cons of a mastectomy,'” Giuliana said. “‘Let’s figure this out.'”
But Bill chimes in that though her rock, he had his moments of weakness too.
“As a husband and as a man, you wish you could trade places with your wife, but you can’t, and it sucks,” he says. “I of course had my moments. But you know, you’ve got to be strong; I would never break down in front of her. I wasn’t curled up in a fetal position in the shower, but there were moments when it was like, ‘It’s not fair. Why does she have to go through this?’ There was anger.”
The E! News co-host underwent a double mastectomy on December 13, followed by reconstructive surgery that left her self-conscience at first which brought forth concerns about being before cameras again.
“I’ll be totally honest. While I was recovering, I was thinking, ‘I’m really going to be asking people what they’re wearing? I didn’t know if I could find the joy in it again. But it didn’t take long.”
And if she got over her anxiety, she wasn’t going to stand for others to treat her with kid gloves.
“My first day back, I walked in and these girls I’d seen every day — my assistant, my hair and makeup girls, who I’d have fun with and be crazy with — all had this sad look in their eyes,” Giuliana said. “It was like, ‘Hey, guys, cut the bulls—t. I’m the exact same person I was before. I’m still shallow, I still love clothes, I still want to talk fashion, I still want to gossip, so lay it on me.’ They were like, ‘Thank God.’”
Admittedly it took her some time to grasp after so much had taken place at one time, Giuliana who is still trying for a baby with her hubby, always felt she was strong.
“The one word I always saw in all the messages was “strong,” she said.”You’re so strong, stay strong, be strong—when you hear something enough, you start believing it.”
Catch the full interview of the happy, devoted couple at Glamour.
