• Motto

Janice Dickinson Reacts to Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis: ‘I’m Going to Stick Around For a Long Time’

2 minute read

Janice Dickinson has revealed that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The former supermodel made the announcement on Monday, saying she feels like she is living in a “nightmarish dream,” in a video interview with DailyMail.com.

“It’s still quite shocking. You know, I’ve had plastic surgery and I’ve had breast implants and I’ve always been very vocal of what I’ve done, because I tell the truth about everything. As I am right now,” the 61-year-old said.

She said she received the news about two weeks ago while out on a shopping trip with her 22-year-old daughter, Savannah – “I got the call and my doctor informed me that yes, it is indeed cancer,” she said.

Dickinson explained that days earlier during a routine exam, her doctor found a pea-sized lump on her right breast that didn’t “feel right” and told her the growth needed to be checked out.

“I became fearful,” Dickinson said of that moment. “But not for myself. I was fearful for my two children. My fiancé, my loving fiancé Rocky.”

She described telling her son, Nathan, about the diagnosis.

“When I got the news, this was very, very difficult. My son called me and I had to tell my son the news. But when I heard my son choke, he said, ‘I haven’t cried in 20 years.’ I said, ‘me either.’ I wasn’t crying then either,” she said.

“It’s a proud moment to know that I’m so loved and so lucky. Today I got very scared … I just got scared. It hit me. It hit me.”

Dickinson said she is determined to survive the illness.

“I’m going to get through this. You betcha, kiddo,” she said. “And I’ll be just fine. This is not a pity party. I’m Janice Dickinson. I’m going to stick around for a long long time.”

This article originally appeared on People.com

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com