Continuing to Thrive
- Good Morning America anchor Amy Robach, a breast cancer survivor, is counting her blessings after another positive scan; the TV presenter has been in remission for 7 years.
- The wife and mother, who was diagnosed after a mammogram on-air to spread awareness in 2013, says that she uses these markers as a reminder to live life every day and to be humble.
- Amy Robach shared her journey with SurvivorNet in a video interview, showing how far she has come in staying present, and how cancer saved her marriage.
The wife and mother, 48, who has been in remission for seven years, is appreciating staying present, and celebrating with friends after receiving good news of another positive scan.
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The journalist has two teenage daughters, Ava and Analise, with her ex-husband, actor Tim McIntosh; she has been married to actor Andrew Shue since 2010. Robach also has three step-sons with the former Melrose Place star.
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Amy’s On-Air Diagnosis
Robach agreed to get a live mammogram in front of millions of people on Good Morning America as part of a breast cancer awareness campaign in 2013; she never thought that the results would actually come back positive.
She had stage 2 invasive breast cancer.
The TV host admitted to SurvivorNet in a prior interview that she took the shocking news poorly and was even angry at her current husband for not reacting the way she wanted him to.
"I don't know how other people handle that news, but I didn't handle it well," Robach said. "I became an absolute wreck, a total mess. I had my husband on speaker phone at the time of diagnosis because he was 3,000 miles away … I remember the radiologist, because my husband said nothing, we were all shocked beyond belief, said into the phone, 'Mr. Shue, your wife's not taking the news very well.' …trying to get him to say something."
"I had an idea of what he should be doing, what he should be saying, what he should be feeling, and if he didn't do any of those things the way I wanted him to, or what I thought I needed, I was extra upset and extra angry."
Related: Fear, Anger, Anxiety You're Entitled To Your Emotions
She said they were already struggling when she got the cancer diagnosis. "So this kind of threw everything into a further tailspin, until it didn't … until we realized that we were only stronger together and that we had to give each other a break."
She opted for a double mastectomy, and had to face the fact that she was unable to have a child with Shue due to side effects from her treatment. They had been trying to conceive when she was diagnosed.
Related: Early Menopause Comes as a Shock to Cancer Survivor Araceli Rubi
Robach has physically and emotionally come a long way since, and has taken the advice of her husband to appreciate life more.
"My husband coined a phrase that I remind myself of everyday: 'Don't die before you die.' I have used that, instead of feeling like I'm a victim, like this happened to me, I really feel like, what can I do to make my body stronger? So for me, I've been weight lifting and running. I've taken some control back. I might not have the breasts I once had, but I've got guns I never had before."
‘Scanxiety’The Struggle is Real
Many cancer patients often say that waiting for the results for a scan is sometimes more difficult than the diagnosis itself. We know that with cancer, sadly, no one is truly ever “safe.” However, the more years that go by, the less anxious survivors tend to be since as we know, the first 5 years are crucial overall, and for some types of cancers, guidelines tend to say 10 years.
It’s scary to just sit back and wait for something you can’t control. But, one thing you can control is being healthy and taking care of your body, like Robach who has used running to feel more in control of her life.
Dr. Ken Miller from University of Maryland School of Medicine tells SurvivorNet the most important ways to stay healthy in between scans to help prevent another cancer diagnosis.
- One is exercise. I’m going to want you to be doing at least two hours a week of some exercise, and walking counts.
- The second is I personally recommend a low-fat diet.
- Third thing is I recommend a colorful diet. So I think there’s real value to fruits and vegetables.
- And the fourth is trying to be close to ideal body weight.
Recommendations for a Healthy Lifestyle One Doctor's Advice for Cancer Survivors
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