Jill Martin Returns to ‘Today’ 3 Weeks After Double Mastectomy
Today show lifestyle contributor Jill Martin returned to the broadcast after a brief hiatus related to her recent breast cancer diagnosis, which she first went public with in July.
On Monday, Aug. 7, the 47-year-old Emmy award-winning TV personality and fashion expert was back on the air talking to Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, just about three weeks after she first appeared absent from the NBC morning talk show.
In the short time since the two worked together, Martin told Guthrie she had undergone a double mastectomy and found out she had Stage 2 breast cancer.
Martin revealed that while she was undergoing the surgical procedure, her team of doctors found a tumor had already spread into one lymph node, which resulted in nearly a dozen additional lymph nodes being removed.
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"That's the first step. And so I'm grateful that we caught it," she continued. "I'm grateful that there is a treatment plan going forward, but it's a long road, and emotionally — and anybody will tell you this — it is earth-shattering."
While the procedure went well, as Martin suggested, this is only the first step in her aggressive treatment plan, which she laid out for viewers.
Her next steps include undergoing a full hysterectomy to reduce her risk of ovarian cancer and taking an anti-hormonal drug for the next five years. Whether or not she'll need chemotherapy is still up in the air.
"I grew up ... with my mother saying you never know what's going on with someone on the inside," she said. "I look like myself, but internally, it's very tough."
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Martin also admitted to feeling "lucky" that she caught the cancer when she did, which prompted her to go public with her experience.
"My main message as to why I'm doing this in real-time with our viewers is ... I was up to date on mammograms and sonograms. ... Had I caught this genetic testing earlier, I would have been able to take measures," she said. "I feel like I'm lucky I caught it, but I don't want anyone else to have to go through the cancer part."
As for why she returned to work so soon after starting treatment, Martin had an answer for that, too. "I said you could either stay home and cry under the covers, or I can come to work and be myself," she explained. "And I'm not going to let cancer take that away from me."
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