ABC Anchor Diagnosed With Breast Cancer After Getting Mammogram on Air

Last month, ABC News Amy Robach had a televised mammogram Good Morning America to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Although she was initially reluctant, she agreed after GMA‘s Robin Roberts, a breast cancer survivor herself, told her, “If one life is saved because of early detection, it’s all worth it.”

The mammogram segment aired in early October; however, unbeknownst to viewers, the story didn’t end there. Last week Robach was diagnosed with breast cancer. On Thursday, she will undergo a double mastectomy followed by reconstructive surgery. In an ABC blog post, she wrote, “The doctors told me bluntly: ‘That mammogram just saved your life.'”

She also wrote:

[W]hile everyone who gets cancer is clearly unlucky, I got lucky by
catching it early, and there are so many people to thank for making sure
I did. Every producer, every person who urged me to do this, changed my
trajectory.

The New York Times reports that Robach will be taking a leave of absence while she undergoes and recovers from surgery. “I am mentally and physically prepared as anyone can be in this situation,” she wrote.

She added, “I can only hope my story will do
the same and inspire every woman who hears it to get a mammogram to
take a self exam. No excuses. It is the difference between life and
death.”