ABC's Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts is at home resting after a successful surgery for breast cancer. Pathology reports will take some time to pocess, but when more information is available, the public will be updated, says a Good Morning America spokesperson.Roberts, 46, told her story recently in an e-mail.
I never thought I'd be writing this. ... I have breast cancer," writes Roberts.
It all started a few weeks ago. We had gotten the news that our dear colleague and friend Joel Siegel had passed away and we began preparing for our special tribute show for him. I did a piece about Joel's courageous battle with cancer, reporting on the way my friend had lived his life and been such a successful advocate for the importance of early cancer screenings.
That very night when I went to bed, I did a self breast exam and found something that women everywhere fear: I found a lump.
At first I thought, "This can't be. I am a young, healthy woman." Nevertheless, I faced my fear head on and made an appointment to see the doctor. Much as I was hoping the doctor would say it was nothing, she did a biopsy and confirmed that the lump I'd found was indeed an early form of breast cancer.
Hearing the doctor say those words out loud was surreal.
I will be having surgery shortly and follow-up treatment in the months to come. So in the coming months, you will probably notice that I will have my good days and my bad days, but I know I will get through it with the love and support of my family and friends. Diane, Sam, Chris and all of the folks behind the scenes who make this program come to life each and every morning have been so supportive and loving at this challenging time.
To you, our viewers, please know that your thoughts and prayers very much sustain me as they always have each and every morning when I sit in the chair next to Diane and say "Good Morning America." You have always been there for me ... and I love you back.
And like my good friend Joel, I can't stress enough how important it is to get screened and checked for all cancers - and to do self breast exams. I am so blessed that I found this in the early stages and the prognosis is so promising that my doctor expects me to be flying planes and hanging on to submarines in the middle of the Atlantic and scaling the Mayan Pyramids in no time in the mornings to come.
Now I join the ranks of millions of Americans who are fighting this same battle each and every day. I appreciate YOUR courage and YOUR example. Thank you for showing me the way.
You can send Robin Roberts a personal message by clicking here.
1. Jackie, I've read a couple of your articvles here regarding breast cancer and wanted to touch base with you about a project I've been working on that might be of interest to you and your readers
Three years ago I watched helplessly as my wife lost a close childhood friend to breast cancer after she was originally misdiagnosed, and told she was" too young" to get breast cancer. Diane courageously battled the illness for five years, enduring both mainstream and alternative treatments, and all the while reminding those around her of the precious nature of each day of life.
In an effort to raise awareness about breast cancer, and to pay tribute to Diane, I spent the years since her passing writing a screenplay which follows a young woman and family dealing with breast cancer. Through the recently formed, Sunflower Pictures, that script is now in what is referred to as "pre-production". The response to the story has been very strong. We are very close to having secured the entire $2 million budget -- all of it private money -- but we now need to show a strong demand for such a film in order to complete the funding.
To that end, and to coincide with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we launched a website that not only talks about Diane and why we're making the film, but also provides women with the information they need to be properly informed about this terrible disease.
The film website is http://www.facethesunmovie.com If you could take a moment to visit the site, watch the videos, visit the linked websites and send the message to your friends reminding them of the importance of regular mammograms, that would go a long way towards proving to potential investors just how badly a film like this is needed.
What's more, if there was some way to get the message about this project out to your own networks, that would be fantastic. Your support of this project is critical to ensuring that women of all ages understand that breast cancer isn't an illness that just affects other people. When "Face the Sun" is released theatrically a percentage of the net profits will be donated to cancer research.
Let me know what you think of the website, and what you think of the project. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Take care, and keep up the fight.
Mike
Posted at 3:59PM on Aug 6th 2007 by Mike Moroz