NBC News' Antonia Hylton Shares Rare Cancer Diagnosis After Missing Early Symptoms

The NBC News correspondent said she began experiencing symptoms about two years ago, but it was "easy for me to just write it off."

By Allison Schonter

NBC News correspondent Antonia Hylton is opening up about her cancer diagnosis. Appearing on the Third Hour of Today, the journalist revealed that she was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer, a neuroendocrine tumor, on her 30th birthday after she initially brushed off her symptoms for several years.

Hylton told Today hosts Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, and Dylan Dreyer that she first began experiencing symptoms, including stomach issues, about two years ago. However, "it was easy for me to just write it off. I travel. I'm on planes (and) maybe I don't have the best diet. But I love what I do, so it's worth it, and I'm not going to let these symptoms hold me back."

It was a segment on the Today show in August about Craig Melvin's brother's death due to colon cancer that finally prompted her to see a doctor. Hylton said, "Something about that really stuck with me," noting that the segment aired around the time her symptoms started to worsen. I was waking up (and) my face was swollen. I was having trouble going to the bathroom for days on end." Remembering her family's history of colon cancer and knowing that Black people have the highest rate of colon cancer in the U.S., Hylton said, "I went to see a specialist who sent me for a colonoscopy."

Three weeks later, on her 30th birthday, she received a call from her doctor informing her the screening revealed a polyp that turned out to be a neuroendocrine tumor, a rare type of cancer that releases hormones into the bloodstream. Dr. Nooshin Hosseini, a gastroenterologist and Hylton's doctor, said on the Today show that while the tumors can occur anywhere in the body, they most often develop in the gastrointestinal tract, specifically the small intestine.

"I was panicking," Hylton recalled of the diagnosis, sharing that the tumor was fortunately caught early. "I had a series of procedures to remove tissue and screening tests to see if the cancer had spread. The last scan showed I'm all clear."

Hylton said that she is now doing well, telling the Today co-hosts that through the ordeal, she "learned a really important lesson at 30 to listen to myself and to put myself first. I love my job. I worked hard here at NBC, and I'm not going to stop doing that. But I've learned the lesson that I really need to put my health first and not push these things off."

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