Tennis Star Gabriela Dabrowski Reveals She Won Olympic Bronze While Being Treated for Breast Cancer

Canadian tennis star Gabriela Dabrowski revealed that she was battling breast cancer when she won her bronze medal in the Paris Olympics.

On Dec. 31, the 32-year-old posted on Instagram and shared her diagnosis and how her health journey has changed her over the past year.

“The Unseen of 2024: How can something so small cause such a big problem? This is the question I asked myself when I was diagnosed with breast cancer back in mid-April,” she wrote. “I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am okay and I will be okay. Early detection saves lives. I can wholeheartedly agree with this.”

Dabrowski explained that she felt a lump in her left breast during a self-exam in spring 2023, but her doctors told her it was nothing to worry about. However, by spring 2024, she noticed the lump was bigger and decided to get it scanned.

“The following morning I went into Advent Health Hospital in Wesley Chapel and had a biopsy on my left breast. The preliminary results came back that day: cancer,” she shared. “These are words you never expect to hear, and in an instant your life or the life of a loved one turns upside down.”

“Fast forward through 2 surgeries at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, recovery rehab, @patrickdaciek tossing the ball for me on my serve because my left arm couldn’t raise high enough, a slight delay in treatment to be able to compete at Wimbledon and the olympics, radiation + fatigue (between Toronto and US Open), starting endocrine therapy, ending the season on the highest note possible…it all seems surreal,” she said.

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Dabrowski admitted that she’s sharing her story now because she initially wasn’t prepared to expose herself to the possible attention and questions she’d receive about her cancer battle. She said she wanted to “handle things privately” with those closest to her while there were so many unknowns about her disease.

“Currently, I’m in a place where I have a better grasp of my treatment, side effects and how to manage them,” she added. “Please know I am fully aware of how lucky I am as well, because many do not get the luxury of being able to tell their story at all.”

Dabrowski said that over time, she recognized that she was “part of something bigger than myself” and wanted to use her platform to raise awareness for breast cancer and the importance of early detection.

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The tennis star ended the emotional post by thanking those who were involved in her cancer journey and supported her throughout her battle. She admitted that early after her diagnosis, she was afraid of cancer becoming a part of her identity forever. 

“I don’t want to feel that way anymore,” she said. “It is a privilege to be able to call myself a survivor.”

Dabrowski said her breast cancer diagnosis gave her the opportunity to see challenges through a “lens of gratitude.”

“If you saw me smiling more on court in the past 6 months, it was genuine. That wasn’t always the case,” she added. “While I have been actively working on improving my attitude for many years through therapy and guidance, my cancer diagnosis was the catalyst for more sustained change. When the threat of losing everything I’d worked for my entire life became a real possibility, only then did I begin to authentically appreciate what I had.”

“My mindset shifted from ‘I have to do this (play tennis and not waste my skills),’ to, ‘I get to do this.’ Through this lens I find it so much easier to find joy in areas of my life I previously viewed as a heavy weight,” she wrote. “To cancer I say f— you, but also, thank you.”