Hoda's Amazing Recovery
- Cancer survivor Hoda Kotb may be a first class talent, but she appears to have been in coach on a recent flight home from vacation.
- Kotb was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 after doctors found lumps during a routine checkup.
- Breast cancer is a common cancer that has been the subject of much research, so there are many treatment options out there. Mammograms, a standard screening procedure for breast cancer, and self breast exams can save lives.
Fans were surprised by a recent Instagram post in which the TV star was apparently flying coach on her way home from vacation.
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The official account for Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager came back with a joking reply: "We love our fans â¤ï¸"
Fans chimed in to express their admiration for Hoda Kotb – and say they believe she deserves the first class treatment.
"Just curious,… sorry. But are you flying coach?" wrote one. Another responded "lol I know, that feels unlikely to me too! At least extra leg room given her salary & how hard she works?"
Hoda’s Cancer Battle
Kotb is doing so well today, but she faced a battle with cancer not too long ago.
In February 2007, she was diagnosed with breast cancer after doctors discovered lumps in her breast tissue during a routine exam. She was 43 at the time and underwent a mastectomy and reconstruction followed by five years of taking the drug tamoxifen (Nolvadex).
"Cancer shaped me, but it did not define me. It's part of me, but not all of me," Hoda Kotb said at an annual Breast Cancer Research Foundation New York Symposium and Awards Luncheon in 2017.
She's still cancer-free today, but Hoda Kotb has since opened up about her fertility struggles following her breast cancer battle.
"I remember that my oncologist called, and we were talking about freezing my eggs," Kotb told Good Housekeeping. "She basically said that given my age and (my breast cancer treatment), it was pretty close to a dead-end."
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Her reaction was, understandably, filled with sorrow. And at that moment, she doubted she'd ever realize her dream of becoming a mother.
"I was in my room, and I just sobbed. I thought, 'Well, that's that, isn't it?,'" Hoda Kotb said. "Like, you almost blame yourself. 'Why didn't I do this? Why didn't I do that?' So I just pushed it away because the reality seemed impossible to bear.
"How do you survive knowing you can't have what you desire and what you feel like you actually physically need?"
But fast forward to today, and Hoda Kotb loves taking care of her two girls, Haley Joy, 5, and Hope Catherine, 3. She adopted Haley in 2017 and Hope two years later. And she thanks her now ex-fianceÌ, financier Joel Schiffman, 64, for providing the support she needed to become a mother.
"I don't think I would've adopted if it hadn't been for Joel," she said of Schiffman. "Having a stable relationship in that moment was really important. Once that fell into place, it didn't seem as scary to me."
Understanding Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a common cancer that has been the subject of much research. Many women develop breast cancer every year, but men can develop this cancer too though it is more rare, in part, due to the simple fact that they have less breast tissue.
Screening for breast cancer is typically done via mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) says women should begin yearly mammogram screening for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer. The ACS also says those aged 40-44 (such as Hoda Kotb was when she was diagnosed) have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year, and women age 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year, or they can choose to continue yearly mammograms.
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It's also important to be on top of self breast exams. If you ever feel a lump in your breast, you should be vigilant and speak with your doctor right away. Voicing your concerns as soon as you have them can lead to earlier cancer detection which, in turn, can lead to better outcomes.
There are many treatment options for people with this disease, but treatment depends greatly on the specifics of each case. Identifying these specifics means looking into whether the cancerous cells have certain receptors. These receptors the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and the HER2 receptor can help identify the unique features of the cancer and help personalize treatment.
"These receptors, I like to imagine them like little hands on the outside of the cell, they can grab hold of what we call ligands, and these ligands are essentially the hormones that may be circulating in the bloodstream that can then be pulled into this cancer cell and used as a fertilizer, as growth support for the cells," Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
One example of a type of ligand that can stimulate a cancer cell is the hormone estrogen, hence why an estrogen receptor positive breast cancer will grow when stimulated by estrogen. For these cases, your doctor may offer treatment that specifically targets the estrogen receptor. But for HER2 positive breast cancers, therapies that uniquely target the HER2 receptor may be the most beneficial.
With files from Abigail Seaberg
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