Peggy Sulahian Regrets Opening Up to the OC Housewives About Her Cancer Battle: "They Don't Deserve It"

Peggy Sulahian didn't waste any time in opening up about her life as she gets to know The Real Housewives of Orange County this season. The RHOC newbie shared her struggle with breast cancer with the ladies, explaining that she had a double mastectomy in order to prevent a cancerous growth from spreading. 

However, Peggy's recounting of her health journey has been met with some confusion among the RHOC crew as they try to understand her diagnosis and reasons for undergoing the preventative procedure. The talk, questions, and speculation about Peggy's illness made the RHOC rookie visibly upset this season. 

Peggy clarified why there may have been some confusion about her health during a recent interview with The Daily Dish (clip above). "I've had a lot of health issues, and it struck me all of a sudden out of nowhere. It wasn't a cancer scare; it was cancer. And it happened so fast that we needed to take it out in a matter of three months. It was very aggressive, even though it was small, but it was very aggressive," Peggy shared, adding that the ladies' "interrogation is not supportive," though she admitted that she was "in denial" with her health issues at the time, especially since she had just dealt with the passing of her father. "So when they asked me, I was kind of dumbfounded that I had to think about my emotions at that time, my feeling how it was, and I just wanted to back up and say, 'I don't want to know that I did have it.' So that's how the miscommunication came across."

Now Peggy said she is "not happy" that she shared her cancer battle with the RHOC ladies. "They don't deserve it. I'm not happy I discussed it. My whole intent was to have support from them, especially the first [dinner] at the Quiet Woman. Sitting there with five women, I wanted to express it, and I wanted to talk to them about it, to get feedback, have the support. I didn't even get to talk about anything. I just sat there and watched the show with entertainment and food," she said. "It's pretty harsh, and if they say that it's coming out of, 'We're just asking,' it's like, stab me in the back and say sorry. Who are you? Yeah, it doesn't work with me." 

Peggy is grateful to receive an outpouring of support from RHOC fans who have shared their own experiences with cancer. "The fans have been amazing with [sharing] their problems and 'Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting it out there.' It's amazing. 'Thank you.' That's all I hear, that's all I get, and that gives me strength. It's given me a lot of strength to go on. I think they've been my support system," she said. "It's amazing, really amazing. I've given them strength, but I've got strength more from them." 

This season of RHOC, we see Peggy get ready to have breast reconstructive surgery, which includes getting expanders put in. "I would always be in pain. My arms would get numb. It was terrible having those expanders. It was terrible. I was hurting, nobody would see it, but I was in pain all the time. I would get expanders and go home, and I would just go in bed," Peggy shared. "It's like metal in you, and I did not know anything. I just went in blindsided. I had to do what I had to do." 

Peggy underwent her breast reconstructive surgery in July, which she also said was "really tough" to go through. Though the RHOC newcomer can finally start to put this long health battle behind her, she said that the experience of treating her cancer hasn't really hit her yet.

Still, Peggy is glad that she's getting back to being her old self again. "What a difference," she said of how she feels today. "My color's back." 

Hear Peggy and her husband Diko Sulahian open up more about her cancer battle in the latest episode of The Daily Dish podcast, below.