Nearly a month after Today Show contributor Jill Martin revealed she had stage 2 breast cancer, she gave an update on the “earth-shattering” six weeks since she was diagnosed with the “insidious disease.”
Three weeks ago, Martin underwent a double mastectomy. In the four-hour surgery, doctors removed an aggressive tumor and 18 lymph nodes — one of which was cancerous. Fortunately, her medical team believes they removed all of the cancer.
“Honestly, physically, I am doing OK. (Emotionally is a different story; it’s been a roller coaster),” she wrote in an essay for Today. “My double mastectomy was successful. A week after my surgery, my 45-minute meeting with my oncologist, Dr. Joseph Sparano, at Mount Sinai in New York City, started with the news that there is a good chance I am cancer-free, but I need further treatment to help ensure that.”
The journalist explained that she’ll learn the specifics of her next steps and treatment plan later this week. However, she already knows she will need to have a full hysterectomy, take anti-hormonal drugs for five years, and will “most likely” need chemotherapy due to the aggressive nature of the tumor. She added that the chemo is “the part that hit me the hardest.”
“I am still in a state of shock, of course. Dr. [Elisa] Port told me that most people reconcile and process leading up to the surgery after being diagnosed,” she wrote. “Yet, all of this happened so fast for me. There was not a lot of time to process upfront, and a lot of that is going on now after the fact.”
Martin admitted that “cancer has knocked” her down — but assured fans that she’s “choosing to fight.”
“I used to jump out of bed every day to begin work, but now every day is a choice,” she shared. “Do I feel like staying under the covers and crying? Yes. Every day. But I did that when I first started recovery … and little by little, like today, I am choosing to get up. I am choosing to fight. And I am choosing to use my strength and platform to do my best to crush cancer.”
The “Steals and Deals” segment host said she will be “on and off the air dealing with treatment for the next six months” — but added that she thought it was “important” to share the “happy,” “sad” and “scary” parts of her journey in “real-time.”
“We will get through this together,” Martin concluded. “Thank you again for all your love and prayer.”