How is Tom Brokaw Doing? The Cancer Fighter Recently Retired after 50 Years at NBC and Continues to Battle Blood Cancer

Going through a cancer battle in such a public way presents its challenges, and Brokaw has continued to handle his diagnosis with elegance and grace. He has also seized the opportunity presented by his diagnosis to educate others about multiple myeloma. This year, approximately 34,920 new cases of this disease will be diagnosed in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Tom’s Cancer Battle

In an earlier interview, Brokaw spoke exclusively with SurvivorNet about his cancer battle and how he’s living with his cancer in the years since his diagnosis. The NBC News anchor has remained admirably active even in his later years. Brokaw first served as the co-anchor of The Today Show starting in 1976 to 1981. He then acted as anchor and managing editor of NBC News for 22 years. One of Brokaw’s successors, Lester Holt, recently received the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism (Brokaw was a recipient of this award as well).

Related: Multiple Myeloma & Bone Health: What You Need to Know

Brokaw says he keeps his focus off his cancer.  "I'm not dwelling on this cancer all the time. 'I've got a fatal cancer' I don't wake up thinking that way,” he says.

He was motivated to seek a doctor’s input after experiencing persistent back pain. "So one summer, my back was just persistently painful,” he says, “and I had a very, very smart internist who was my primary care doctor. And on his own, he drew some blood, and he spent one morning doing what they call evidentiary medicine."

Tom Brokaw’s Advice to Cancer Patients

Maintenance Therapy for Multiple Myeloma

Hematologist Dr. Nina Shah explains maintenance therapy for this disease in an earlier interview. She says, “For patients that get treated for myeloma, we don’t stop at just a few cycles of chemotherapy or just the transplant. You can expect to live at least 10 years because we have so many therapies that we sequence.”

Related: The Importance of Maintenance Therapy for Multiple Myeloma

“And we have something called maintenance therapy, which we know can make you live longer. Maintenance therapy is just that. It’s maintaining the myeloma at a certain level or maybe pushing it away, preventing it from growing,” says Dr. Shah. “And the way we do that is to give you a small dose of a drug called lenalidomide or Revlimid. It has what we call an immunomodulatory effect. That is it’s telling your immune system, ‘hey, wake up.'”

Maintenance Therapy for Multiple Myeloma

Coping with a Diagnosis

Brokaw says he’s a big proponent of going with the best rather than the most likable doctor. "I think that we have to change the mindset of a lot of patients,” he says. “And get tough, frankly, about changing that mindset. I know you love your doctor, I know you think he's a great guy, or she's a great person. The fact is unless they've got the skillset, they can be a bastard, but if they're good at what they're doing, go to them!"

Being armed with the knowledge that you’re in the care of an excellent doctor may help minimize fears and anxieties that can result from a cancer diagnosis.

Related: A Major Step in the Cancer Journey: Learning to Deal With Vulnerability

For many people, getting diagnosed with cancer can lead to difficult emotions, such as grief, depression, anxiety, and fear. You don’t have to suffer, though. As soon as you can, get connected with a mental health professional, like a therapist, or a cancer patient support group.

Anchorman Tom Brokaw Advises Other Cancer Patients: You Don't Have to Like Your Doctor, Just Get To The Best One

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.