Today presenter Jill Martin candidly shared an update on her health after undergoing a double mastectomy just weeks after her breast cancer diagnosis.
The TV personality, 47, previously revealed she had been diagnosed with the life-threatening condition after taking an at-home saliva test to find out if she had BRCA genes.
She has since had the four-hour surgery and reappeared on the Today show on Monday to give fans an update on her medical journey which has been “emotionally overwhelming.”
Jill revealed that she would have to undergo further preventative surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes, as well as take anti-hormone medication for the next five years.
Today presenter Jill Martin candidly shared a health update after undergoing a double mastectomy just weeks after her breast cancer diagnosis
She reappeared on the Today show on Monday to give fans an update on her medical journey which has been “emotionally overwhelming”.
Appearing on the show, Jill began: ‘I grew up with my mum saying you never know what’s going on with someone inside and so I look alike but internally it’s very difficult.
“I had a double mastectomy and they found out I was stage two. They found an aggressive tumor that had spread into a lymph node, so we removed a few lymph nodes around it – so that’s the first step.
“I’m grateful we caught him and I’m grateful there’s a treatment plan ahead, but it’s a long road and emotionally it’s overwhelming.”
She revealed she was still waiting to find out her next steps after taking a test to find out “if the chemotherapy would help her”.
Jill continued: “I will have to have another preventative surgery for my ovaries and fallopian tubes and then I will be on anti-hormonal medication for five years, but there is an end – which means it is curable.”
The presenter, who said she was up to date with mammograms and ultrasounds, added: “If I had (done) this genetic test sooner I could have taken action and I feel to be lucky to have caught it but I don’t want anyone else to go through the cancer part.
She is now urging everyone to take the same genetic test because ‘prevention is so much better than fighting cancer’.
When asked what made her go, she replied, “You can either stay home and cry under the covers, or I can come to work and be myself. I won’t let cancer take that away from me.
Jill, who married her longtime partner in September 2022, said: ‘It hurts the most to watch (my family) watch me go through this’
Breast cancer symptoms to look out for include lumps and swellings, dimpling of the skin, color changes, discharge, and rash or scabs around the nipple
Accompanying her appearance, Jill wrote a heartfelt first-person essay for Today in which she thanked fans for their support.
She also candidly revealed, “I personally think it’s easier to get through this than to watch your loved one suffer; at least, that’s what I experienced with my family. It hurts me the most to see them watching me go through this.
“It shakes up a family and a household. The past three weeks have felt like a lifetime.
Jill added: “It all happened so quickly for me. There wasn’t a lot of time to process initially, and a lot of it is now happening after the fact. The cancer knocked me down. It To.
“I used to jump out of bed every day to start working, but now every day is a choice. Do I want to stay under the covers and cry? Yes.
“But I did when I started recovery…and little by little, like today, I’m choosing to get up.” I choose to fight. And I choose to use my strength and my platform to do my best to crush cancer.
Last month, Jill broke down in tears as she revealed the news of her diagnosis on Today
Jill’s candid post-mastectomy appearance on the Today show comes just four weeks after she first revealed the news of her diagnosis in another emotional essay and on-air segment that saw her burst into tears as she opened up about her battle with breast cancer.
During the interview, Jill revealed that she was diagnosed after taking an at-home saliva test to find out if she had BRCA genes.
A woman who has a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene has up to a seven in 10 chance of getting breast cancer before age 80, according to the American Cancer Society.
Jill soon learned she was one of those women – even though her mother had tested negative.
Sadly, the presenter is no stranger to breast cancer – her grandmother died of the disease and her mother underwent a double mastectomy after discovering she had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
DCIS “means that the cells lining the milk ducts of the breast have become cancerous, but have not spread into the surrounding breast tissue,” the American Cancer Society explains, and if left untreated, they can turn into an “invasive” disease.
Although she was “vigilant” with her screenings and had her mammogram “clear” in January, Jill said her doctor’s suggestion that she get genetic testing “saved her life”.
