The best news WPXI’s Cara Sapida has ever received
preparing for bad news since my double mastectomy. Every day, I had pep talks with myself preparing to continue on with more chemotherapy, that it had spread. To hear I had a complete response is honestly the best news I’ve ever received.”
That’s saying something, given her profession and the amount of experience she has reporting on news, both good and bad. After graduating from Ohio University, the Turtle Creek native and Woodland Hills High School graduate took journalism jobs in Hagerstown, Md., and Fort Meyers, Fla., before coming home to WPXI. She celebrated her 10-year anniversary at the station in 2020.
“When I was younger, I remember different stations would always refer to certain reporters as their hometown reporter,” she said. “I vividly remember saying to myself, ‘That’s going to be me someday.’ For that to come true, it’s not lost on me that that was a big dream of mine.”
Her passion for reporting and storytelling was yet another reason her breast cancer diagnosis was such a huge blow, as she was immediately forced off the air to begin treatments. She refers to that early post-diagnosis time as “the dark days” that “left me in the fetal position for days.”
She did get some solace at least from the overwhelmingly positive responses she received after she posted on social media about her diagnosis on June 30, especially the ones from others with breast cancer and those who survived the disease. Ms. Sapida has always been “a writer at heart,” and her weekly updates about her progress helped others verbalize how they were feeling and helped foster a bit of community among those suffering from the same ailment.
“It helped to feel less alone, because going through breast cancer during a global pandemic is lonely,” she said.
Her communication skills impressed Jennifer Kehm, a fellow breast cancer survivor, co-founder of the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, and development and liaison manager with the Cancer Caring Center. Ms. Kehm learned she had breast cancer in 2000 when she was only 36, so even though she’s been cancer free for 20 years now, she knows what it’s like to be a young mother dealing with a life-changing diagnosis.
She reached out to offer support to Ms. Sapida after she revealed her cancer on social media, and the two communicated quite a lot as Ms. Sapida went through her chemo treatment.
“She’s very open and raw and honest about what she’s dealing with,” Ms. Kehm said. “You could see the roller-coaster ride she was on. She is an excellent writer, and she expressed herself really well. It resonated ... and she was able to be a great spokesperson for what breast cancer is really like and why young women should get tested.”
Ms. Sapida wants everyone to know a few things about dealing with cancer. First and foremost, there is more than one type of breast cancer. She was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention often requires both surgeries and chemo to effectively eradicate.
She also can’t stress enough just how unpleasant chemo is. It’s so awful that she’d much rather go through another “horribly painful” double mastectomy than ever subject herself to another round of chemo.
“Breast cancer is not pink ribbons,” she said. “Breast cancer is ugly. Chemotherapy is grueling. My chemotherapy made me violently ill, and I was constantly thinking about how far the reality is of breast cancer compared to the idea that it’s these pink ribbons.”
If there’s one piece of advice she can offer to women her age, it’s to never wait on getting mammograms, including during a global pandemic. Women under 40 can perform self-checks and, if they feel a lump, shouldn’t hesitate to schedule an appointment, she urged.
Ms. Kehm seconded that message. A large part of what both organizations she works for do is provide education and support, both social and emotional, to young women dealing with a curveball as unexpected and dangerous as breast cancer. She emphasized community as a way to cope and again commended Ms. Sapida for being fearless about putting her challenges on display to help others feel seen through her struggles.
“You can really gain a lot from being with other people who have been through the same thing,” Ms. Kehm said. “It diminishes the isolation and fear and anxiety. I can’t tell how you comforting it was to me.”
Now that Ms. Sapida is on the other side of cancer, she is excited about getting back to being a mom without the constant threat of the disease looming over her every move.
She had told her son that she hoped to be over cancer by Christmas, and though she didn’t quite make that deadline, she’s happy that he can finally switch his nightly prayers — to any higher power who will listen, including Santa — from making Mommy cancer free as soon as possible to making anyone with this affliction cancer free.
“For me to look him in the eyes and tell him that Mommy’s breast cancer is gone, that was such an emotional moment for me, because I also dreamed of that day,” she said.
She’s not quite sure when she’ll return to the air on WPXI, although she’s targeting April after the six to eight weeks it should take to recover from the double mastectomy. As a cancer survivor, she’s also now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, which should also make it easier to once again report the news and tell stories in the city she loves.
“I’ve always been so proud to be from Pittsburgh,” she said. “And the way Pittsburgh supported me in this journey has been remarkable. I will forever be grateful.”