LOS ANGELES, CA -- Erin Andrews has revealed that she battled cervical cancer during the NFL season.
The Fox Sports sideline reporter and "Dancing with the Stars" co-host tells Sports Illustrated's MMQB that she underwent surgery for the cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 11 and was back on the sidelines five days later.
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The 38-year-old says that her doctor didn't recommend that she return to work so soon, but that "sports were my escape."
Andrews says she underwent a second procedure on Nov. 1. and was told later that month that radiation and chemotherapy wouldn't be needed.
Throughout the ordeal this fall, Andrews performed all of her sideline duties for the network and didn't miss a game.
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Andrews settled last year with two hotel companies that were found partially to blame for a stalker posting secretly recorded nude video of her on the internet.
"After the trial everyone kept telling me, 'You're so strong, for going through all of this, for holding down a job in football, for being the only woman on the crew,'" Andrews says. "Finally I got to the point where I believed it too. 'Hey, I have cancer, but damn it, I am strong, and I can do this.'"