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‘FSU Cowgirl’ Rushed Into Surgery for Emergency Double Mastectomy

The comedian and former NFL reporter said she “would be lying if I said I wasn’t in a state of shock.”

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

PublishedApr 27, 2026, 1:45 PM EDT

UpdatedApr 27, 2026, 1:46 PM EDT

Updated Apr 27, 2026, 1:46 PM EDTPublished Apr 27, 2026, 1:45 PM EDT

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A comedian and former NFL reporter revealed that she underwent an emergency double mastectomy after several weeks of complications related to her breast implants.

“Last Thursday…I lost my breasts,” Jennifer Sterger, 42, wrote in the caption of an Instagram post on Friday, which featured 13 photos and videos from the hospital.

Sterger, who was nicknamed the “FSU Cowgirl” after being filmed with friends at a 2005 Florida State University football game, served as the “Gameday Host” sideline reporter for the New York Jets in 2008.

In 2010, she found herself at the center of a scandal involving New York Jets player Brett Favre. Deadspin alleged that the quarterback sent Sterger suggestive messages and photos, leading to a probe by the league that ultimately led the NFL to fine Favre $50,000 for “failure to cooperate” with the investigation.

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“I have spent the past month in and out of countless doctors’ offices, hooked up to all kinds of devices and tubes in an effort to find out what’s been wrong with my right breast,” Sterger wrote in the April 24 social media post.

Her doctors were attempting to determine if she was suffering from a rare cancer called breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), which typically develops in people who have textured breast implants.

Symptoms may include breast growth, skin rash, and fluid build-up, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

To determine her diagnosis, Sterger underwent multiple biopsies, which she described as “brutal.”

“Two were utter failures, and the other was one of the most painful experiences in my whole life... and I’ve worked for the Jets,” she wrote.

Eventually, Sterger was directed to the emergency room by a plastic surgeon.

“They did their own ultrasounds, and tests… and basically asked for a few days to assemble a team of doctors to handle my case,“ she said, joking, ”You know, like the Avengers.”

But before her medical team had time to conduct a plan, her condition took a dramatic turn for the worse.

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“Thursday morning, the right one exploded. Not the implant, my actual breast,” Sterger recalled. “Being immunocompromised and still with lots of questions about what was actually occurring in my body, doctors were scared that if we waited, I would go septic. So, I was rushed into the [emergency room] and redlined into surgery.”

She described the experience as “terrifying,” and recalled, “I was literally just meeting people who that same night would hold my life in their hands.”

Her surgery included an implant removal and a nipple sparing double mastectomy.

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According to Sterger, countless people had told her that her career success was dependent on her breasts.

“They said, ‘Your career will be over,’” she wrote, adding, “And maybe they’re right. Or maybe, it will just remove the part of my career I’ve outgrown anyway.”

At the time of writing the Instagram post, Sterger was still recovering from the invasive emergency surgery and had yet to hear the results of her lymphoma testing.

“I’m still grappling with how big of a life change it is,” she said, adding, “And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t in a state of shock.”

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“I know ultimately whatever the results come back as, I will face this like I have every other obstacle in my life... with unbridled resilience and tenacity,” she said.

Sterger finished off her caption with a joke.

“Like John Cena says... I never give up. And oddly enough... my breasts and John Cena have a lot in common... Now... You can’t see either of them,” she wrote, referring to the actor and former WWE wrestler’s famous “you can’t see me” catchphrase.

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Despite receiving some negative feedback over her post, Sterger wrote in her Instagram stories that she was glad to make her story public, writing, “If one woman saw that post and remembers to advocate for herself and trust her gut, that’s worth it.”

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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