It’s the hardest fight of her life. Ex-“Miss Germany” Katrin Wrobel (45) felt a lump in her left breast in the summer. A medical odyssey began. Then her suspicion was confirmed: breast cancer!
She was lucky in misfortune, because she was spared chemotherapy! But: The doctors advised her to have a mastectomy! Four weeks ago her left breast was removed and rebuilt.
The presenter spoke to BILD about her fight against breast cancer, setbacks and how she made friends with the silicone pillow in her breast.
Katrin Wrobel as “Wheel of Fortune Letter Fairy” from Sat.1
“He literally said the word ‘cancer'”
Wrobel to BILD: “For years I’ve had a mammary gland that fills up with water again and again, but also swells up again, that’s not unusual in the cycle. But then this summer I noticed that the thing was getting bigger pretty quickly and at some point every movement started to hurt.”
At the end of July I went to her gynaecologist: “He first checked, then did an ultrasound and then my gynecologist said nothing more, except, ‘Hmm… We’re not worrying about it for the first time. First of all, I’m going to send you over for a mammogram now!’”
Wrobel: “Fortunately, I got in touch with his colleague straight away. The usual wait in Berlin is between two and four months. After the mammogram, the radiologist called me in and said, ‘We’re going to do a biopsy. It’s breast cancer by the looks of it.’ He literally said the word ‘cancer’. That was unbelievable. When I came out of the practice, it was raining cats and dogs – like in a dull Hollywood movie.”
After the diagnosis, the former “Miss Germany” and “Wheel of Fortune Letter Fairy” went to a clinic.
Wrobel: “At the beginning of August I was in the clinic for a punch biopsy. The doctor there said: A lot would have to happen if it wasn’t cancer after all. And I just thought: I have so many customers right now. I can’t let them down.”
She describes a rollercoaster ride of emotions: “The doctor called me and said that the biopsy showed that the first sample did not show any cancer. Of course I was really happy. Shortly afterwards, however, he called again and said: ‘Unfortunately, the second sample from the tumor had cancer cells.'”
Wrobel took photos while in the clinic, here before her surgery
The knot should be surgically removed. Wrobel: “Then it would be decided how the further therapy would proceed. Ideally, we’ll get the thing out and then it’s over!”
In September, the tumor was removed from the left breast. Wrobel: “I still thought: ‘Great! Now the number is up.’” But the nightmare didn’t end there.
Another call followed, the doctor told her that “they did find cancer cells at the edge of the tumor. As a result, they could not rule out that the cancer cells had spread in the mammary gland tissue – and that they discussed in a tumor conference to perform a mastectomy – the complete removal of the mammary gland. The breast is then rebuilt with silicone.”
After the operation, Wrobel was still tired and done. Her recovery phase now lasts until March
Wrobel agreed: “I had the mastectomy done three weeks ago. Since then I have only been able to move my left arm to a limited extent, not even lifting heavy ones. My recovery phase should last until March.”
Wrobel is relieved: “After the mastectomy, the breast tissue went to the pathologist again. There they actually found isolated cell changes. In this respect, the path of mastectomy was exactly the right one.”
The 45-year-old has now made friends with the silicone pillow in her chest, the mastectomy was the right step
And further: “At first I had my problems with the implant. I know there are women who choose silicone voluntarily. But I never belonged. But when a part of your femininity is taken away from you, that’s something else entirely.”
She managed to make friends with the silicone cushion: “A dear friend said to me: If you have caries in your tooth, it has to be removed and then you get a filling instead. I just swapped it in and closed the gap again.”
Did you need chemotherapy?
Wrobel to BILD: “No, fortunately not. Because no visible proven lumps were found just under the skin or nipple. Then I would have needed chemo or even radiation. Because it was a single 1.5 inch lump in the middle of my chest, I didn’t need to.”
Luckily, no cancer was found in her right breast. The doctors therefore advised her against removing the healthy breast: “If I had to endure therapy again, it wouldn’t be so easy if there were already an implant in it.”
Wrobel in the hospital, she also made the photo available to BILD
So she told her daughter (13) about cancer
Wrobel’s husband Klaus Fricke (70) was always by her side: “My husband was present at every examination and operation. Klaus stood there like a rock in the surf. He came to the clinic every day and would not leave me alone. He’s the love of my life.”
But the 45-year-old also describes: “It was incredibly difficult for me to tell my daughter Louisa (13) about my diagnosis. It was very emotional. My daughter said to me, ‘We can do this! We’ll just punch the cancer away!’ She nailed it really well. I’m so proud of her.”
A great team: Kathrin Wrobel and her daughter Louisa in summer 2021
She summarizes the last six months as follows: “I always went to all check-ups regularly. Still, the topic of breast cancer was so far away from me. But I found out about it from my friend Tanja Bülter. But only when you get the diagnosis yourself can you understand the powerlessness. My last few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions.”
