Jenn Sterger, the FSU cowgirl turned NFL reporter turned standup comic, just shared details of a harrowing emergency surgery.
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The 42-year-old revealed on Instagram that she underwent a double mastectomy this week because her breast implants had “exploded.”
The stand-up comedian explained in a lengthy Instagram post that she’d been dealing with pain in her right breast for over a month. Things took a dramatic turn last Thursday when she was rushed to the ER because her “right one exploded.”
“Not the implant, the actual breast,” she insisted.
“I was rushed into the ER and redlined into surgery. It was terrifying. I was literally just meeting people who that same night would hold my life in their hands. It was an emergency implant removal, nipple sparing, double mastectomy. And with it, the final piece of my mask that’s protected me all these years,” she explained in the caption to her post.
“As a late-diagnosed neurodivergent woman, I’ve lost count of the number of people who told me, you’d be nothing without your breasts,” Sterger continued. “They said, ‘Your career will be over.’ And maybe they’re right. Or maybe, it will just remove the part of my career I’ve outgrown anyway.”
Her surgery involved removing her implants and performing a nipple-sparing double mastectomy.
Standup Comic Jenn Sterger Keeps Her Sense of Humor After Undergoing Emergency Surgery
At the time of her Instagram post, Sterger was still recovering from the invasive emergency surgery and awaiting the results of her lymphoma tests.
“I’m still grappling with how big of a life change it is,” she said. “And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t in a state of shock.”
“I know ultimately whatever the results come back as, I will face this like I have every other obstacle in my life… with unbridled resilience and tenacity,” she added.
But in true comedian fashion, she found a way to inject some humor into the situation.
“Like John Cena says… I never give up. And oddly enough… my breasts and John Cena have a lot in common… Now… You can’t see either of them,” she quipped, referencing the actor and former WWE wrestler’s famous “you can’t see me” catchphrase.
Sterger Made Headlines For Altogether Different Reasons Some Years Back…
Sterger, who became an overnight sensation as the “FSU Cowgirl” in 2005, later worked as a sideline reporter for the New York Jets. She made headlines in 2010 when it was reported that quarterback Brett Favre had sent her inappropriate messages and photos. The NFL ultimately fined Favre $50,000 for not cooperating with the investigation.
It seems Jenn Sterger has gone from making headlines to making punchlines, proving that even after a double mastectomy, her sense of humor is fully intact.