DENVER — 9NEWS Chief Meteorologist Kathy Sabine is back at 9NEWS.
Sabine made her return during 9NEWS at 4 p.m. on Wednesday following her recent skin cancer diagnosis, treatment, surgery and recovery.
"I am looking forward to going back to 9NEWS and reconnecting with everyone, but I'm not going to lie, I do feel a little bit of anxiety about it because I don’t quite feel or look 100% like myself," Sabine said Wednesday.
Sabine had two operations in July — one was a Mohs procedure to remove the troubling area and then plastic surgery to reconstruct her nose using cartilage from her ear.
"I'm so grateful for the outpouring of love and support. I so appreciate the vulnerability of people who have shared their own stories and I am grateful to have the platform and opportunity to get the word out about skin cancer in Colorado," Sabine said.
Sabine shared her recovery journey last month with the hope that by sharing her experience, more people will be comfortable and inspired to get their skin checked through regular examinations.
"It's for real and people need to get the facts. I never thought it would happen to me," Sabine shared. "Like many Coloradans, I love to enjoy this beautiful state the sunshine and the outdoors, but I have learned you have to be smart and even then sometimes it’s not enough."
Kathy Sabine shares her skin cancer journey
"I want to show people that you can come back from something like this. A lot of people reached out about how they felt anxiety and depression, they felt isolated because they looked different after the skin cancer surgeries. I can relate. But you can come back from this. So if I can be an inspiration to even one person who’s felt those feelings and give them hope I’m here for it."
Sabine is a seven-time Emmy Award recipient for best meteorologist, a broadcast veteran of 35 years and part of the 9NEWS team since 1993.
"I've only been applying makeup for a few days so that will be a process trying to navigate around the scar that will still take months to heal, but it will heal and I am grateful. Thank you, everybody."
Sabine said she's grateful for the messages she's received on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from people wishing her well, in addition to people sharing their own stories about skin cancer.
If you'd like to send Sabine a message, you can email her at kathy.sabine@9news.com.
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