The Biggest Loser’sseason 6 at home winnerHeba Salamahas experienced ups and downs since her time on the show in 2008.
After struggling to conceive her daughter Blum, now 9, Salama got divorced in 2015.
In October of the same year, she met her current husband online. Life felt full again. “It was really kinda crazy, right when I met Greg [Frazer], and I just kind of was like, ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to do this again,’ " recalls Salama, 44.
She decided to give the relationship a try. Two years later, the couple got pregnant, but Salama miscarried 10 days before the wedding in 2017.
According to the National Cancer Institute,a person with a positive test result for the gene has an increased risk of developing certain cancers, especially breast and ovarian.
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“I had never gotten pregnant on my own,” the former reality television contestant explains. “BRCA2 is ocular, ovarian, pancreatic, breast, and melanoma. I was hysterical. It was dark, and then COVID happened, which actually, I was like, ‘Thank you, pandemic,’ because I can’t really be out in public shooting weddings right now because I’m not really sure which end is up.”
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Salama finally got pregnant in September 2020. She was over the moon with joy but also had to strategize with her doctor about what her cancer treatment plan would be after she gave birth. She delivered her son Zain in May 2021 and started her first round of treatments for her health right away.
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Losing parts of her body so quickly while raising two children was so hard on Salama that she sought treatment for her overall mental health.
Saving as much of her own breasts and nipples as possible was important for the mom of two, so she’s been patiently waiting her turn to see two specific doctors in San Francisco to perform the next step in her health journey. If all goes according to plan, in early 2023, Salama will undergo a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction at the same time, hoping to preserve most, if not all, of the sensation to her breast area.
“I’m not interested in losing complete feeling in my boobs,” Salama, who will need one follow-up reconstruction later in 2023, shares. “I’m young. I’m terrified. I’m mourning parts of myself. It’s just like, your womanhood.”
But through it all, Salama is trying her best to remain cancer-free for her family.
“I realize that I’m lucky to have these choices because I haven’t been given cancer yet,” Salama shares. “There are days where I’m like, ‘I’m standing and that’s good.’ I have good days and mostly good days.”
source: people.com
