Janice Dickinson has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Janice Dickinson
The 61-year-old model's doctor found a lump in her breast on March 12 during a routine examination and after an urgent mammogram and biopsy she was found to have a common form of the disease known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
Despite the diagnosis, the raven-haired star insists she is going to be around for a "long, long time".
She told Daily Mail Online: "Just two weeks ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer, it's hard for me to say this, but I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
"It's still quite shocking. Today I got very scared ... I just get very scared and it hit me. But I am not gonna let that define me, the fear. I'm going to get through this, I'll be just fine kiddo.
"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."
Janice - who lost her mother to cancer - went to seek medical advice after experiencing stomach trouble but knew she had cancer as soon as her doctor found the lump.
She recalled: "The doctor noticed it immediately. She said, 'This doesn't feel right.' And she said, 'We have to be real comprehensive with this and have it checked out.'
"I'm always optimistic, initially when the doctor found the lump it hurt, it became quite painful when you touch it, that's the point when I knew this is serious, when the doctor touched this little lump in my right breast, about the size of a pea, and I went, 'Bingo, I have cancer.' "
Janice admits she went into "a world of fantasy" as she tried to deal with the diagnosis and she was worried about how her kids, son Nathan, 28, daughter Savannah, 22, and 68-year-old fiancé Rocky would react upon hearing the devastating news.
She added: "I became fearful for my two children, my loving fiancé Rocky, we have a grandson, aged four, his name is baby Aby. I just thought they are gonna flip out."
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