Janice Dickinson diagnosed with breast cancer

'I am going to get through this, I'll be just fine kiddo,' model says

Janice Dickinson (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Janice Dickinson is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

The model, often dubbed the world’s “first supermodel”, told the Daily Mail a pea-sized lump in her right breast was detected by doctors during a routine medical examination. She has since had a biopsy and mammogram which confirmed a diagnosis of early stage ductual carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a common form of non-invasive breast cancer.

The 61-year-old, who has appeared in numerous reality television programmes like I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Celebrity Big Brother over the years, spoke tearfully to the paper, saying she was scared when she first learned of the diagnosis.

“It’s still quite shocking,” she said. “Today I got very scared… I just get very scared and it hit me. But I am not going to let that define me, the fear. I’m going to get through this, I’ll be just fine kiddo.”

In the interview, the reality television star also urged other women to go for regular breast examinations and said she hopes her openness with the disease can help other women.

“So now I’m gonna have to roll up my sleeves and start to work for breast cancer and breast cancer awareness", she said. “[…] Don’t feel sorry for me, this is not a pity party. I’m Janice Dickinson and I’m gonna stick around for a long, long time, you ain’t getting rid of me yet.”

Dickinson is expected to have surgery to have an area of tissue around the lump in her breast removed and will then have radiation therapy as well as medication, according to the paper. She will document her journey on US television show The Doctors.