Doctor With Cancer Lifts Spirits Dancing To Beyoncé Before Undergoing Double Mastectomy

Apr 22, 2020 by apost team

Seven years ago, Deborah Cohan, MD, a physician and obstetrician-gynecologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, gained recognition in the midst of her battle with breast cancer for dancing in the OR just minutes before she had to undergo a double mastectomy.

Clad in a baggy blue gown and colorful cap, Dr. Deborah Cohan, an OB/GYN at the University of California at San Francisco, danced with her medical pals in scrubs to Beyonce's Get Me Bodied.

Instead of going under the knife with a heart full of fear, she decided to have her own little dance celebration of life right there in the operating room. For 6 minutes and 14 seconds, the Harvard-educated doctor who runs the perinatal HIV clinic, grooved, laughed and partied. It was a wonderful thing to have done, especially for a breast cancer patient about to be put under before a double-mastectomy.

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“I was a healthy yet overworked 44-year-old. I exercised, breast-fed my children for a total of four years, ate organic food. On the surface, I had no obvious risk factors for cancer,” she said to Cancer Health, reflecting on her diagnosis in the fall of 2013.

On the day after she got her diagnosis, she took a leave of absence from work, called her family and headed to her weekly soul motion dance class. Despite feeling overwhelmed and afraid, Deborah says she decided to imagine death as her dance partner during the class.

“Somehow, I think addressing my fears directly and doing it in a place that was really safe emotionally for me, surrounded by friends and community, allowed me to pop through it. Near the end of the class, I actually felt joy in my body.”

This one comment from the video sums it up perfectly: "How do you face a potentially fatal cancer and a major surgical procedure? By flapping around and dancing in your hospital gown like a boss!"

With such a life-changing operation only minutes away, Deborah displayed true courage. Pass this along to help inspire many others who may be dealing with the same unfortunate situation.