Celebrity chef Sandra Lee announces she has breast cancer

May 7, 2012. Sandra Lee arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit in New York. (Reuters)

Sandra Lee has announced she will undergo a double mastectomy this week after being diagnosed with breast cancer, People magazine reports. She reportedly discovered she had cancer after a routine mammogram.

“Life can turn on a dime,” she told the magazine after being told she had cancer in her right breast.

The celebrity chef was diagnosed with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), a common noninvasive cancer contained within the milk ducts that can become invasive over time if left untreated. The most common treatment is a lumpectomy followed by radiation or a mastectomy and survival rates are high.

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After her mammogram, Lee underwent a biopsy to confirm her diagnosis and had testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, the genes that increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. She tested negative and then decided to undergo a double mastectomy because she didn’t want to go through weeks of radiation.

Lee’s longtime partner of 10 years, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is planning to be right by her side in the operating room. “This is about her feeling secured and loved,” he told the magazine.

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Lee who is 48 says she is glad she didn’t wait until 50 to get a mammogram, as new guidelines recommended.

And when this challenge is over the chef is setting her sights on a new goal: "I plan to spread the word about early detection."