Robin Roberts, 61, Whose Partner ‘Sweet Amber,’ 47, Is Battling Cancer, Can’t Hold Back Tears As She Declares Dick Vitale, 83, To Be Cancer-Free

“We are thrilled to share some news about our beloved colleague from ESPN and a dear dear friend,” the 61-year-old Roberts said on GMA. “College basketball analyst Dick Vitale posted on Twitter that he is cancer free!”

Roberts was sitting on set with co-anchors Gio Benitez and Amy Robach as she detailed Vitale's cancer fight. The 83 year old is a former college and professional basketball coach, and a sportscaster for ESPN where Roberts was also a sportscaster before jumping to GMA in 2005.

“Dickie V was diagnosed with Lymphoma in October after surgeries to remove melanoma,” Roberts said, revealing Vitale sent her a text that said he just felt like he won the national championship.

“God Bless. All I can say is ‘You’re awesome, baby!’ I got chills," added Roberts. "I got a little teary-eyed because we’re always texting back and forth and he asks about Amber,” Roberts said about Vitale's interest in her partner Amber Laign, who has been fighting breast cancer since being diagnosed in 2021.

The TV segment also hit close to home for Roberts in another way.

She is a cancer survivor herself.  Roberts was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and took a leave of absence to undergo eight chemotherapy treatments to become cancer free.

The anchor also battled a rare blood disorder in 2012 called myelodysplastic syndrome that she contracted as a complication of the chemotherapy.

Cancer Treatment Complication

Certain factors elevate the risk for developing MDS and one of them is prior cancer treatment with chemotherapy. Patients treated with certain chemo drugs for cancer are more likely to develop MDS. MDS caused by cancer treatment is called “secondary MDS” or “treatment-related MDS.”

In a previous interview, Dr. Caitlin Costello, a hematologist-oncologist at UC San Diego Health, says, "The things we consider for patients who may need an autologous stem cell transplant is number one their disease."

Dr. Costello explained that a stem cell transplant is more effective for certain diseases. "There are some diseases for whom this works better than others," she said. "It's most commonly used in relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, but there are other lymphomas, mantle cell lymphoma for whom which patients oftentimes get and I'll autologous stem cell transplant as soon as they achieve remission. Or something close to it."

Roberts was told her life expectancy would be one to two years without a successful transplant. So, Roberts underwent a bone marrow transplant donated by her sister Sally Ann, who was a perfect match.

But the disorder led Roberts to take another leave of absence from GMA in 2012. She's been at the helm of GMA ever since.

As for Vitale, he took to Twitter to announce the good news about his cancer fight.

“Dr. Rick Brown just notified me with my results of my major Pet Scan & told me the news I wish EVERY cancer patient can hear,” he tweeted.

“He said ‘Dick u have gone from being in remission to being CANCER FREE’! Thank u to ALL of YOU that have sent me (prayers).”

The analyst took a break after his diagnosis to rest his vocal cords. It's unclear how soon he'll be back.

Understanding Hodgkin Lymphoma

Lymphoma, in general, is a cancer of the immune system that begins in the white blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphoma begins when lymphocytes develop a genetic mutation that makes them multiply much faster than normal. This mutation also forces older cells that would normally die to stay alive. From there, the quickly multiplying lymphocytes collect and build up in your lymph nodes, the small glands in your neck, armpits, and other parts of your body.

There are more than 40 different types of the disease, but Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are the main two sub-categories with the latter being more common. According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, about 90,390 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with lymphoma in 2021 8,830 cases of Hodgkin lymphoma and 81,560 cases of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The type of white blood cells linked to the disease determines the distinction. If doctors are unable to detect the Reed-Sternberg cell a giant cell derived from B lymphocytes then it is categorized as Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In a previous interview, Dr. Elise Chong, a medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, explained that Hodgkin lymphoma was most often seen in younger adults. And although less common, it is generally easier to cure than non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

 

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