DWTS Alum Shares ‘Really Unfortunate’ Way Her Kids Learned She Had Cancer

A former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant and co-host recently opened up about her children learned she had cancer several years ago. Brooke Burke won season 7 of DWTS with partner Derek Hough. She later co-hosted the show alongside Tom Bergeron for seasons 10 through 17.

In 2012, Burke was diagnosed with cancer. She talked about her diagnosis and the “really unfortunate” way her children learned their mom had cancer during a recent podcast episode.

Brooke Burke’s Daughter Learned of Her Mom’s Cancer Accidentally

Burke reflected on the early days of her cancer diagnosis during the July 9 episode of Curtis Stone’s podcast “Getting Grilled.” Stone asked her about telling her kids about her diagnosis, and she admitted, “That was the hard part.”

The “Dancing with the Stars” alum noted at the time of her diagnosis, her oldest two daughters were teenagers, and her other two children were still quite young.

She explained that after receiving her cancer diagnosis, she chose to “tell my own story” by uploading a video about it on YouTube.

“I didn’t want it to be a headline and to start showing up everywhere with, like, that [expletive] up picture and ‘Brooke has cancer,’ and I didn’t want it to be that cover story,” the former “Dancing with the Stars” co-host explained.

Unfortunately, Burke revealed, “My daughter saw [the video] on my phone before I had posted it. She was like, ‘What the F, mom? Like, how could you not tell me?’”

As soon as her kids learned she had cancer, Brooke noted they immediately voiced their worries they would lose her. She recalled they “go immediately to, ‘Are you going to die? Are you dying?’”

Burke has four children, shared Us Weekly. Her oldest two daughters, Neriah, 24, and Sierra, 22, are from her marriage to Garth Fisher. Her younger two kids with ex-husband David Charvet are daughter Rain, 17, and son Shaya, 16.

The “Dancing with the Stars” alum understood her children’s reaction to her cancer diagnosis. “I think that’s what people hear when you hear those words that ‘You have cancer.’ You go, ‘Ooh my God, I’m dying.’ And that’s heavy and that’s hard.”

The DWTS Alum Focused on Being a ‘Really Great Patient’ & Has Recovered

During the podcast with Stone, Burke acknowledged that going through cancer was a “learning lesson,” she noted.

Burke shared that the diagnosis made her realize, “Oh, my God. There’s something larger and greater than me. I live this healthy life. I was like, ‘Cancer, what? Like, me?’” She also recalled feeling as if she didn’t “have time for cancer.”

Despite the initial reactions she experienced, Burke “decided to become a really great patient, and to assemble a proper team, and to really get down into caring for myself.”

The “Dancing with the Stars” veteran also focused on “Finding faith in my own body and in my team.” Burke added she is “one of those people now where I never miss a physical.”

Looking back on her cancer battle, Burke admits, “Those kind[s] of things will rattle you.” She noted she didn’t let it change her life, though. “I’m one of those people where I’m wringing it out every day.”

However, Burke added, “But it made me realize how powerful things are that are out of your control. And then it’s really how you deal with it, I think.”

Stacy Carey has been a freelance writer focusing on reality television and celebrity news for more than a decade. She is a Heavy contributor for The Bachelor, Hallmark and Dancing With the Stars. More about Stacy Carey