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Savannah Chrisley is sharing insight and setting the record straight regarding Julie Chrisely‘s 2012 breast cancer battle.
On the Tuesday, June 17, episode of her Unlocked podcast, Savannah, 27, addressed a comment on social media that her mom, 52, “faked her breast cancer diagnosis to avoid court proceedings.”
Julie and her husband, Todd, were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud in 2022.
“Let’s take it back: She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. They weren’t federally or criminally charged till 2019, so that right there completely debunks your whole theory,” the reality TV personality said.
The podcast episode was recorded before President Donald Trump granted the husband-and-wife duo full pardons on May 27. Todd, 56, was serving a 12-year sentence at Federal Prison Camp Pensacola in Florida, while Julie was serving seven years at Kentucky’s Federal Medical Center Lexington. They both were released from prison on May 28.
The Chrisley Knows Best star recounted what went down when the family found out about Julie’s diagnosis.
“Dad picked me up from school — mom had a doctor’s appointment that day,” Savannah recalled. “I’ll never forget finding out that mom had breast cancer, but she went to North Side Hospital in Atlanta. She had a biopsy done, and then my dad was like, ‘No, I have to make sure she has the best care possible.’ That’s when we went to Johns Hopkins in Maryland, I believe, and they said, ‘Hold on, you actually have two spots, not just one.'”
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Savannah then explained the surgeries her mother underwent to eliminate the disease and what role her younger brother Grayson played.
“She immediately opted for a double mastectomy because the reoccurrence rate with a lumpectomy is much higher, and Grayson, at the time, was 6 years old, and mom knew that she could not risk the chances of her cancer coming back,” Savannah shared.
She added that her mother’s breasts were “very large” and claimed because of that, “you have so much breast tissue that the chances of the cancer spreading was much higher.”
However, that wasn’t the only surgery Julie underwent, as Savannah revealed her mom “had a full hysterectomy because her cancer was estrogen-driven.”
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Savannah described the aftermath of Julie’s treatment.
“She basically went through menopause at the age of 39, and during that, she would have insane hot flashes. The side effects were horrible,” Savannah recounted. “She had two or three reconstructive surgeries. She slept in a recliner for what I feel like was probably a year beside their bed with my dad because she couldn’t stand to lay all the way down.”
After detailing Julie’s journey, Savannah further clapped back at the commenter who started the rumor, saying, “There truly is a special place in hell for you.”
Prior to her parents release, Savannah and her siblings had wrapped production on their upcoming Lifetime reality show, which was set to focus on their efforts to free Julie and Todd from prison. Now that her parents are free, Savannah confirmed on a separate podcast episode last month that cameras have begun rolling again.