‘Today’ Show’s Jill Martin Gives Health Update After Double Mastectomy, Unexpected Breast Cancer Diagnosis

The TODAY show’s Jill Martin is speaking out in a new personal essay after undergoing a double mastectomy just weeks after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The lifestyle and commerce contributor shared an update on her health as she described the past “earth-shattering six weeks,” during which she was diagnosed with breast cancer just one week after learning she tested positive for the BRCA gene, which is linked to a higher likelihood of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

“Honestly, physically, I am doing OK. (Emotionally is a different story; it’s been a roller coaster)” she wrote. “I had an aggressive tumor removed, and my surgeon, Dr. Elisa Port, removed 18 lymph nodes, one of which was cancerous.” Martin, 47, continued that her oncologist believes there is a “good chance” she is cancer-free after the surgery, but she will also need to undergo a full hysterectomy and take anti-hormonal drugs for 5 years to ensure that. 

“I will most likely need chemotherapy because of the aggressiveness of the tumor,” she continued. “That is the part that hit me the hardest – the idea of chemo.” While the TV personality is still in a “state of shock,” she’s “choosing to fight,” she assured viewers. “Cancer has knocked me down. It has,” she wrote. “I used to jump out of bed every day to begin work, but now every day is a choice. 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.”

“I thought it was important to share this journey with you in real time,” Martin continued. “I have shared the happy, the sad and now the scary. We will get through this together.” Martin also thanked all of the people who had sent love and prayers her way during her cancer journey. “I cannot tell you how helpful, inspiring, heartwarming, and life-changing it was to get all of your messages of strength and prayer after I shared the news of my breast cancer diagnosis,” she said. “I am so touched, blown away and humbled. That really is what has helped me during this slow journey of healing.”