Who couldn’t gain inspiration from a woman who has shared so much about her life, especially her personal story of cancer? Robin Roberts is confident with her bright smile and yet she is humble as we learned through her cancer battle. Her resilience gives many people strength.
In 2007 Robin announced that she had a rare form of breast cancer. She let the world into her life while she underwent surgery, and completed chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Her determination to overcome the cancer was inspiring. She said, “Focus on the fight, not the fright.” She called her viewers family and brought her viewers and co-workers on her journey.
In 2012, just when Robin thought the cancer battle was over, she developed MDS. Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) are a group of diverse bone marrow disorders in which the bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells. Her audience watched as she had a bone marrow transplant. But Robin was one of the lucky ones – her sister, Sally-Ann donated the bone marrow stem cells that were infused into her body. Robin’s other siblings were not a match but fortunately, Sally-Ann was.
A bone marrow transplant (also called a stem cell transplant) is a procedure that infuses healthy blood-forming stem cells into your body to replace your damaged or diseased bone marrow. When the new stem cells enter your body, they travel through your blood to your bone marrow. In time, they multiply and begin to make new, healthy blood cells.
Since Robin made public her bone marrow transplant, the need for donors has been brought to the spotlight. For more information on becoming a donor, visit bethematch.org
Today Robin Roberts is healthy and happy. She told her friend, Diane Sawyer, “I have always been an optimist. Being optimistic is like a muscle. It gets stronger with use.” She also said, “With faith, family, and friends you are strong. Even stronger than you think.”
Sometimes you look at people on t.v. and they seem so perfect and then you find out they have struggled immensely just like everybody else. I always thought Robin Roberts was so pretty and I didn’t know she had been ill until I read this article (even though I’m sure it was all over the news)
She’s great on Jeopardy