Robin Roberts' Breast Cancer Diagnosis is an URGENT Wake-Up Call

This week’s announcement that Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts has breast cancer came as a complete shock to me.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news!. I always thought of Robin as the epitome of good health but this just goes to show you that cancer can strike anyone at anytime.

In her own words, Robin outlined how she came to discover the cancer:

“It all started a few weeks ago. We had gotten the news that our dear colleague and friend Joel Siegel had passed away and we began preparing for our special tribute show for him. I did a piece about Joel's courageous battle with cancer, reporting on the way my friend had lived his life and been such a successful advocate for the importance of early cancer screenings. That very night when I went to bed, I did a self breast exam and found something that women everywhere fear: I found a lump.

At first I thought, "This can't be. I am a young, healthy woman." Nevertheless, I faced my fear head on and made an appointment to see the doctor. Much as I was hoping the doctor would say it was nothing, she did a biopsy and confirmed that the lump I'd found was indeed an early form of breast cancer. Hearing the doctor say those words out loud was surreal.”

Just last year I was so excited when Robin agreed to read a copy of my book Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age. I named her one of my “Spectacular Baby Boomer Divas” in the book.

I'm really glad she caught her breast cancer early because that may have saved her life and her actions should be a wake-up call for ALL women---especially African-American women. We must be vigilant when it comes to our health. What happened to Robin can happen to any one of us and if we ignore it we are doomed.