Good Morning America anchor Amy Robach, 40, reluctantly underwent an on-air mammogram last month as part of breast cancer awareness month. It was her first mammogram and she needed to be convinced to do it. Robach assumed that since she had no family history, was in good health, ate well and exercised, that she wouldn’t have to worry about having cancer. Sadly, Robach was wrong. She found out that she does have breast cancer, which she announced on GMA yesterday. She doesn’t know what stage she has, but has opted to treat it aggressively with a double mastectomy. Robach’s coworker, Robin Roberts, is a breast cancer survivor who also fought myelodysplastic syndrome, and underwent a bone marrow transplant last year.
My aunt is battling breast cancer which has spread. This story particularly affected me, and reminded me of the importance of early detection. Here’s more:
A TV correspondent who initially resisted undergoing an on-air mammogram is now grateful she did — because it may have saved her life.
Amy Robach, 40, a reporter for ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” found out she has breast cancer and will undergo a double mastectomy on Thursday, she revealed on the show Monday.
“I’ve decided to be very aggressive,” Robach told Robin Roberts, herself a cancer survivor, on the show.
Robach agreed to the routine mammogram Oct. 1 after her bosses and colleagues on “Good Morning America” urged her to get tested — if only to inspire others to have the lifesaving procedure.
Robach wasn’t eager to undergo the medical screening until her bosses pointed out that she was “the age women should start getting mammograms,” she wrote on ABC News’ website Monday.
“Between flying all over the world for work, and running around with my kids to school and ballet and gymnastics like so many women, I just kept putting it off,” she told Roberts.
Now, she has caught the cancer early and is prepared to fight the disease full-force and have the double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.
“Only then will I know more about what that fight will fully entail, but I am mentally and physically as prepared as anyone can be in this situation,” she wrote.
Robach, who joined ABC last year from NBC, told Roberts, her friend and colleague, she was grateful
co-workers had pushed her to go through with the assignment to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“Thank God you did,” Robach told the news anchor. “I had cancer the whole time we were sitting in that office, and I said, ‘I don’t have any connection to that disease.’ ”
Robach said she never thought it could be possible that she would be diagnosed with the disease after maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle and having no family history of the illness.
“I would have considered it virtually impossible that I would have cancer,” wrote the wife and mother.
But a checkup weeks later quickly led to a “tornado of tests,” indicating that Robach’s battle against the illness was just beginning.
She will take a leave of absence for an undetermined period, an ABC spokesman said.
After she received her life-altering diagnosis, Robach’s family — including her husband, “Melrose Place” actor Andrew Shue, who was on a business trip at the time — flew back to New York to be by her side.
The reporter and her husband are parents to five children — Robach has two daughters from a previous marriage, while Shue, 43, has three sons.
There are still many frightening unknowns about Robach’s particular diagnosis.
“There’s a lot you don’t know until you have the surgery,” she said on-air Monday.
“I don’t know about chemo. I don’t know what stage I am. I don’t know if it has spread. So we’ll find out those things in the weeks to come.”
I didn’t realize that Robach was married to Andrew Shue. It sounds like she has a supportive family and that they will help her through this. Robach also has an understanding employer, which can make all the difference. I can’t imagine going through cancer and having to worry about losing your job, too.
I mentioned when was covering Giuliana Rancic’s breast cancer diagnosis almost two years ago that I haven’t had a mammogram yet. My Ob/Gyn in Germany recommended a sonogram instead, and she said that the lumps I was feeling were just muscle knots. I turned 40 earlier this year and it’s time for me to make a mammogram appointment, I will call my doctor’s office when they open. Stories like this show that any of us can be affected by cancer, and that early detection is so important.
Here’s Robach getting her first mammogram and explaining how it changed her life.
And here’s Robach discussing her cancer diagnosis, her plans for a double mastectomy, and how ABC news and Robin Roberts saved her life.
GMA photos from ABC news via NYDN. Photo of Amy Robach and Andrew Shue is from the 2010 White House Correspondents Dinner credit: WENN.com
CB, glad you’re going to schedule that appointment.
I like Amy. I am heartened to hear that she is getting the best care. You are spot on about family and employer support. So important.
I hope the message is very clear to women – take care of yourselves. You are important.
Agree with Suze CB… and, if at all possible, schedule a diagnostic mammogram… which allows time for more pictures and an ultrasound, if necessary. It can spare A LOT of anxiety. I don’t know if they will schedule this unless you are having some type of issues… but even the concern you mentioned may be enough to warrant the diagnostic mammogram if you request it.
I have had two mammograms, one being an early mammogram at 38. They found cysts at both mammograms, but my experience at each one was very different. The early mammogram was a diagnostic mammogram, as I had some concerns… some lumpiness and occasional pain on the right side. They saw something on the left side though… took more images, then followed with an ultrasound to confirm a small cyst. So, I was worried, of course… but within a couple of hours, relieved and so glad I had the diagnostic mammogram scheduled so I didn’t have to wait long to find out it was only a cyst.
My second mammogram was only a few months ago, and while I had procrastinated, there weren’t any concerns, so I just went for the quickie, ‘ routine’ mammogram. Of course, I ended up getting the dreaded ‘call back’ for more images and possible ultrasound (on the right this time… so no… it wasn’t the same cyst they had found previously). My call back came in the form of a letter though… on a FRIDAY afternoon, when I couldn’t get hold of anyone. I spent the weekend trying not to freak out, and reading similar stories from other women online…. who were called back for more images, and most of which ended up being just fine. Monday, I finally got a bit more info, but couldn’t get in for the diagnostic for 10 days. I have anxiety issues anyway, and this nearly sent me to the psych ward. I called daily to check for cancellations (harder to get in for this one because they have to schedule for the repeat mammo images, followed by doctor review of those images, and ultrasound if needed… followed by doctor review). Ended up getting in the next Friday (which spared me another weekend of waiting). Further imaging, and more cysts were suspected… and an ultrasound quickly confirmed. I was of course, insanely relieved… but also quite traumatized from the severe anxiety over the whole thing.
So I am hoping that, with my history of cysts, and my lovely ‘heterogeneously dense breasts’… and anxiety issues, that I will just be able to schedule the diagnostic mammogram from now on…. and I highly recommend that anyone who has concerns and is able to schedule the diagnostic from the beginning, do so! Extra images and ultrasound may not be necessary, so I understand why they don’t want to schedule this way for everyone… but if there are concerns, it is the way to go.
Sorry for the rambling… I actually tried to make this short. (;
Best wishes to Amy.
I am sorry to hear that. I wish her the best in her fight and hope she has a full recovery.
Amy is such a nice lady, I wish her the best on this journey. I read she was reluctant to do this on air. This may have saved her life, and possibly may result in other women getting checked.
Sonograms are much more thorough than mammograms. I urge you to go get one if it is time!
And, CB, prayers for successful treatment and recovery for your aunt!
My aunt is an awesome lady and a tough cookie. Thank you.
Well wishes to your Aunt, and PLEASE don’t put off your own mammogram. It’s not a pleasant exam, but you have to do it. I have been teaching my 21 year old daughter how to do a self-exam, and stressing how important it is. Mammograms and PAP tests have to be done yearly. No one looks forward to them, but it just has to be done. Make your appointment today! Again, good luck to your Aunt. 🙂
I have to disagree that ultrasounds are more thorough than mammograms. They are a great diagnostic tool for trying to distinguish a mass that has been seen on a mammogram. To my knowledge, they are able to tell if a mass is fluid filled (often a cyst), as well as other characteristics that may not show on a mammogram. An ultrasound has limitations though… such as imaging deep inside the breast. Often times, a mass shown on a mammogram that is deep within the breast, doesn’t even show on an ultrasound. They also are not known to show microcalcifications, which can be associated with a tumor. Ultrasounds are also better for spot checking, as they cannot image the entire breast at once.
So, while ultrasounds are more comfortable (no smashing!)… and very helpful in the diagnostic process, in my opinion (though I am not an expert) they should not be used in place of a mammogram.
For high risk women, oftentimes they do a sonogram every six months and then a mammogram six months later – alternating that way allows the two screening tests to do what they do best. There is overlap between the two technologies and what they can find, but mammograms are better at detecting some kinds of breast disease (e.g., microcalcifications) while sonograms work better for others.
@Cazzee: I very much agree with the approach you mentioned, for the reasons and circumstances you mentioned. My only disagreement was that ultrasounds are ‘much more thorough’ than mammograms, as this isn’t the case. When someone has an abnormal finding on a mammogram, often times they end up getting more mammogram images, followed by an ultrasound… and this gives some the impression that ultrasound is ‘better’. It is better at some things (such as determining if a mass is fluid-filled), which are important when trying to diagnose abnormalities, or used in a combined approach in some cases, but it is not a better tool for overall detection of abnormalities in routine screenings.
I was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer one year ago. My mother had breast cancer, so I always had yearly mammograms. It was not a pleasant experience, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but catching it early made it so much easier. It hadn’t spread to my lymph nodes, and I had a lumpectomy and radiation. I didn’t have to have chemo. Now it’s behind me, and my prognosis is excellent. Please, please get your mammograms.
Glad to hear your cancer was caught early (through your own efforts in getting yearly mammograms), and that you are doing well now!
I’m not familiar with the lovely lady in this story, though I am a bit surprised she has already made the decision to have a double mastectomy without even knowing the details (such as the type, stage, etc.) of her cancer. I certainly don’t fault her for the decision though, as it is a very personal choice that she has every right to make. It seems like an initial reaction to a scary diagnosis… to just want it all out… and any chance of it coming back removed and/or decreased as much as possible.
@ Belle – She probably had a biopsy, which does reveal the type.
“Stage” can’t be determined until her lymph nodes are examined & that happens when they are removed, during surgery. She can have a “sentinel node biopsy” a few hours before surgery, where dye is injected directly into the tumor. Where the dye meets the first lymph node(s) allows pathologists to examine for evidence of cancer cells. If cancer cells are present, she’s Stage 2. If none show in those nodes, it’s Stage 1.
Sorry if this is TMI, but I’ve had BC twice and speculation about validity or necessity of a patient’s choices by outsiders bothers me, especially if it’s based on incorrect suppositions.
@taxi.. not TMI at all, and I appreciate your input and am sorry you have gone through this… twice. 🙁 I didn’t mean to give the impression that I was an outsider who was questioning the validity or necessity of a patient’s choice. I understand the biopsy procedure required to stage the cancer, and was only curious about a treatment choice prior to knowing a stage. I thought my post was very respectful of a patient’s right to choose whatever option they feel is best for them…. I apologize if it came across otherwise. Thankfully, I have not gone through this myself, but those I have known who have gone through it have determined the stage of their cancer prior to deciding on treatment options.
I was just randomly googling Andrew Shue the other day (did you know that he is allegedly very wealthy of his businesses post-Melrose?), and saw he was married to Amy Robach. I wish her and her family the best possible prognosis. I’m glad people put pressure on her to be tested.
Good luck Amy, you are extremely brave. My only advice as a breast cancer patient is to take each step at a time, it really does help. It is hard to feel positive at first as everything has hit you in the face, but in time this will pass, trust me. Well done for having your mammogram despite being fearful, its a horrible thing for women to have to go through but early detection is key. And I agree, having support from work is wonderful. my employers were like a second family to me throughout treatment and immediately after my diagnosis. Lean on family and friends, they will be there for you. Much love to you x
My friend at 39 was diagnosed with breast cancer in May and it was already stage 4, spread super quick through her body and passed away last month. She has three children under the age of 8. It can be such an aggressive illness. I really hope she caught it soon enough.
Dorothy, So So sorry for your loss.
Cancer sucks sh-t. Lost a wonderful, old friend to (another type of) cancer in Oct and am still reeling – he was 35.
CB, sending strong vibes of health and strength to you and your Aunt and family.
Best wishes to all.
I wish her all the very best. I pray that God gives her strength to weather this horrible storm and I hope she’s back in great health really soon.
I never liked the idea of on air medical exams for precisely when the results aren’t particularly expected. But we must continue to educate our women about all kinds of cancer their bodies can face, we must continue to fight for them so they can have all the resources and healthcare needed at their disposal.
Sorry to hear about your aunt. I pray that she recovers soon. Please tell that readers of this forum are thinking and praying for her. Good Energy all around!
A big hug to all the CBers who have had breast cancer, and to CB’s aunt. So many people are diagnosed each year, and I keep sending positive thoughts out that researchers come up with better treatment and prevention options for this disease.
As an aside, it’s good to see Robin Roberts looking so well.
I have a family history of cancer and two years ago, i randomly decided to do a self-check and discovered a lump in my right breast. I was 18 and i freaked out, although i didn’t know if i was too young to have breast cancer. I was away at college and called my mom immediately. Long story short, i opted to have surgery to remove the lump. It turned out to be nothing harmful (still don’t know what it is but it was pretty big) and i now have an ugly scar on the side of my breast that i’m not too happy about sometimes, but ever since then, i self-check every now and then to make sure everything feels as it should feel.
Cancer scares me. I’ve had aunts who survived it and aunts who passed away after a long, arduous battle. I wish the best for Amy Robach.
Glad you’re healthy and I understand your anxiety. See a plastic surgeon about your scar, as some can be improved. Better side than top?
Please, go online or ask your doctor about the correct method & timing for self-examination. “Every now & then” just isn’t systematic enough. Good luck and I’m sorry about your aunts.
So sorry for her, and for your aunt, CB! Hoping the best for everyone.
I do think it’s interesting to see the upswing in both prophylactic and cautionary mastectomies. We don’t have a history of breast cancer in my family, but I’ve known far too many women taken by this disease. Many of whom won their first battle only to have the cancer return with a vengeance. For this reason, I always said that if I got that diagnosis, I’d have a mastectomy right away. Because I couldn’t live with that fear and unknowing. Everyone is different and everyone must chose their own way, but I don’t blame women for making this seemingly radical decision which is often criticized by outsiders.
Amy is SO GORGEOUS and the epitome of Class. Wishing her the best.
Always really liked her from her Today Show days.
I can’t even imagine what’s going through her head right now-she must be shocked and terrified. Best wishes to her and her family.
Best of luck to her and everyone fighting it.
Well….crap. I’m 42 with no history of cancer in my family and had no intention of doing a mammogram anytime soon. Guess I should talk to my doctor. While I certainly would never wish ill on anyone, how amazingly helpful could her story be? I wish her a speedy recovery. My friend was diagnosed at 36, had a single mastectomy and reconstruction. 12 years later she is still cancer free.
One of my best friends has a family history of breast cancer so she is always preaching of getting mammograms, she talked me into getting one when I was 38, even though my gyno said I didn’t have to start worrying about getting one until I was 40, I’m glad I listened to my friend, they found calcification in one of my breast and I choose a biopsy to remove all of it and it was benign, since then I have had two friends that didn’t get their removed and they both later in their lives got breast cancer, in fact one friend just found out on Friday, she has her breast removed this week. I feel mammograms should start before your 40, if your insurance pays for it, take the 30-60 minutes out of your life for a mammogram once a year.
Okay, I had a mammogram 2 years ago at 38 because I felt a lump but after more mammograms and an ultrasound was told it was “just” calcification, blah blah blah, you’re fine. Now I’m totally making an appointment somewhere else.
CB: if you get one, I will too, deal? I’m 40, my mom had breast cancer, lumpectomy, & radiation like GOODNAMESALLTAKEN. (Thank goodness that you caught it early!) and I have these huge knockers that could be hiding all kinds of things. And I’m job hunting in Texas, an at-will state. I went into the hospital earlier this year for a week and was fired upon return. Yay. So I get all of the scare factor. Amy is rather brave. We can be too. Right?
So glad she listened to Robin and got that mammogram.
As soon as she appeared on the couch with Robin I knew what was coming. I wonder how long she would have gone not knowing if she didn’t have that mammogram. So very lucky she did. I hope she has a full recovery and wish her the best.
Same here. I could see her working to maintain composure and started tearing up before hearing the actual news. I enjoy her on GMA and also wish her the best.
I had Stage 1 that was not picked up by mammograms but rather I caught it because I had bloody discharge from my nipple. After a few crazy weeks it was determined to be cancer. I decided to be aggressive and have a double mastectomy and reconstruction immediately. I was a single mom with a 3 year old so I didn’t feel like I had a choice. Cancer has made me realize that life is short and now I am a different person. I call the old person “marina-BC” or before cancer. It sucks that I needed to have cancer to stop letting stupid things bother me, but if I’m going to find a silver lining for losing my breasts that would be it. They were nice breasts so I’m still kind of bummed. Thursday will be 4 years; so one more year and I can say I’m an official BC survivor. Also, tomorrow is my one year wedding anniversary. I never thought that would happen after having my real breasts removed. That’s for sure! I wish her all the best. She and Robin are both classy ladies.
I live in a country with single payer health care and feel very fortunate that I have the access and the money to see an ob/gyn yearly which includes a pap smear and an ultrasound before the age of 40. I got my first breast ultrasound at age 29. It’s never too late and if you have the wealth to go for a yearly checkup, by all means be thankful you are luckier than most women in the world and do it. There is nothing stopping you. I am making sure that if cancer does strike, I’ll try to catch it as early as possible. It doesn’t matter if you have a family history of cancer or not. Our food and air is poisoned with all sorts of hormones,chemicals, and pollution that any mutation can occur that may not have affected our ancestors.
Why isn’t anyone discussing potential causes if she had no family history and was relatively healthy?!! She, herself, doesn’t even mention it. That’s what is freaking me out.
Because the reality is that aggression is so random. We all have cancerous cells in our body at various times. Sometimes our bodies fight them and sometimes our bodies can’t. We’re always hearing news reports about this, that and the other being linked to breast cancer but the bottom line is that if it were that cut and dry, less women (and men) would be getting breast cancer. But that’s just not the case. So eat healthy, exercise, try and reduce your stress and continue to be vigilant and have yourself checked because cancer has no bias and can affect anyone.
I really appreciated what the doctor said about taking a moment to take a deep breath and consider everything before panicking. I would definitely need to take heed if it were me being diagnosed.
I really wish Amy Robach the best. On a side note, I didn’t realize either that she was married to Andrew Shue and I always had such a crush on him.
I don’t think she has had her treatment yet… sounds like she has already decided on the bilateral mastectomy, though she said she doesn’t know what stage her cancer is yet. I understand her reaction, probably wanting the mastectomies so that the cancer can be gone, and not come back. I do kind of wonder about making such a decision prior to having any of the details (stage, type, etc.) of the cancer. As I posted above, I believe it is a very personal decision, and she has a right to make it. Depending on the type and stage of cancer though, many women do very well with less aggressive treatment, so while mastectomy is an option, it is not always the only one.
Weird, this^^ comment of mine (27) was in reply to another comment earlier from someone who said something to the effect of ‘her treatment seemed very aggressive, I wonder what stage her cancer was’. That comment is gone now… or moved (?), so my reply seems kind of odd… sorry! 😉
For some reason, my posts are getting kind of funky…. replies showing up as new comments. 🙁
Sorry to hear about this person’s diagnosis. I am however very much puzzled by the following:
“She doesn’t know what stage she has, but has opted to treat it aggressively with a double mastectomy. ” This seem to be a standard answer to breast cancer in the US now which is to me like finding out you have a gangrenous foot and cutting off your whole leg when it’s not necessarily necessary. I understand it’s a choice over there but I’ve been reading up on Breast Cancer lately and the number of people who have have been told they have Breast Cancer when in fact they don’t is alarming. They have DCIS (or what is now called Stage zero cancer…because it’s NOT cancer!) which is like saying that you have a mole. It CAN be fatal but then again it can also not be. DCIS will turn into cancer in only 30% of the cases! And yet in the US people with DCIS are told they have cancer, are badly informed, freak out and chop off their breasts. It’s nuts. Especially as the rate of complications with such surgeries is very high. Very rarely do the doctors actually discuss the wait and see approach. I understand this is a choice and am not shading anyone who made the best decision for themselves. I do find though that the choice should be made with all the proper information. There is currently a major debate in the medical community about DCIS to change its classification from cancer to something else because it is NOT cancer.
Also this idea that Mammograms should be started at 40 is also bizarre. Unless you have a family history that warrants it studies have shown there is no benefit to having Mammograms done so early on young breasts as you get false positives all the time as the tissue is so dense and globally no improvement in diagnosis or care.Just freaking out people for no good reason. That’s why in countries where they have universal healthcare mammograms are only started at 50 and there is even a debate right now as to how often they should be done. Every year or every other year. Only people with history of cancer in their family get to start at 40.
Anyway I wish information was better communicated by doctors and that they would let the patients have all the info to make an informed choice.
Good luck to her whatever she decides. Like others I’ve had family members have to deal with this, some made it, others didn’t. Luck of the draw I guess. Am crossing my fingers though cause it’s only on my father’s side and my paternal grand mother never had it and died at 97 of old age as they say. So my professional conclusion 😉 is that whatever cancerous predisposition was on my paternal grand father’s x chromosome which by definition I can’t have. Ha! (crossing fingers…)
Anyways good luck to her whatever she decides to do.
The thing is, a mastectomy is not the answer in all cases. IMO, it can cause a false sense of security. I know several women who were diagnosed with stage 1 bc, opted for double mastectomy, then found out they had stage four breast cancer! (found in lymph nodes of the neck or underarms). One also developed ovarian cancer. I am not sure if they didn’t get mammograms after mastectomy and that is why the cancer got so far before being picked up on again.
I am not a bc survivor but I am a stage 3b lymphoma survivor and I would never have opted for the most severe treatment before attending my staging appt with my oncologist in which he informed me of ALL treatment options. Shit, I would have done everything to avoid the chemo that made me spend six months vomiting, losing my hair, and fearing I was dying and three more years recovering from the side effects. I made the choice to sustain my life in the best way recommended in the long run by my team of doctors.
I wish this lady the absolute best and respect her decision but cancer is an unpredictable bitch. I hope she gets her staging done and listens to sound medical advice first before making this very permanent, irreversible, and not always curative decision.