WASHINGTON -- A WUSA9 family member shares her story as a two-time breast cancer survivor to help spread the critical message of early detection.
Kristen Berset has been a co-host for WUSA9's lifestyle show, Great Day Washington, for one year now, a role that became her's, just a few months after beating breast cancer for the second time.
She was a sports anchor at the station for six years before making the transition, which she said happened at the right time.
"This show, Great Day Washington, has really helped me feel better with my life," she said. " Being here and getting that opportunity to share stories about amazing people has really helped me heal."
One of Berset's favorite elements of the show is sharing inspirational stories from people throughout the community.
But, what some people did not know before January of 2017, is that Berset had an inspirational story of her own.
In 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27 years old. She had surgery and was declared cancer-free two years before she broke the news with viewers during an evening newscast.
"That was a tough ,tough evening," she admitted. "It's because I was sitting there with people like Topper, Leslie and Adam, people that I have been on this journey with already."
In the emotional newscast, Berset looked at Anchor Leslie Foster and said "Leslie, I just looked at you and you're making me cry."
Kristen was just one month away from her wedding when she felt a lump during a big hug from her husband. It was just before Thanksgiving in 2016. She was coming back from her bachelorette party.
"I was like 'ouch, that kind of hurt," said Berset, who re-enacted the moment. "In my head, I was just like ' you've got to be kidding me."
"I just knew," she said.
That same week, Berset got a biopsy. She was in Florida, looking at her wedding gown with her mother, when the call about her diagnosis came in.
"We broke down in the hotel room and I said, 'welp, let's keep going," Berset said. "That's just kind of how I've gotten through it."
Berset was stunned. She often asked herself how this could happen, a question doctors could not answer. She has no family history and had breast cancer twice before she was 35.
However, she did not let it ruin her big day.
The wedding was still on and Berset had surgery two weeks later.
"I was like' you know what? Cancer has taken a lot from me, it is not going to take the happiest moment of my life away, " she said. "I think that made that day even more special."
When Berset is not in the studio, she is advocating for breast cancer awareness and early detection.
She is a beacon of hope for others.
"My message to women is to constantly know your body, know what it is supposed to feel like, " she said. "Do those self-breast exams, even if it's once a month."
