Jill Martin has been diagnosed with .
The Today show star has opened up about her condition in a new interview, explaining that she had tested positive for the BRCA gene in June just days before getting the news.
Speaking to, the 47-year-old revealed that she submitted the test for the gene – which is linked to a higher possibility of developing breast or ovarian cancer – and then forgot all about it, before she was told that it had come back positive.
‘I immediately went into producer mode—that’s the only mode I know. I got the names of doctors. I set up appointments,’ she said. ‘I said to my husband, “This isn’t going to be the summer we thought it was going to be, but thank goodness that we caught it.” I actually felt lucky.’
It was at a routine MRI scan that she was informed that she had breast cancer, news which left her reeling.
‘I went in and I remember she said it’s cancer and I remember saying, “Is it treatable?” And she said, “Yes, yes, you’re going to be okay.
‘I’m not telling you I don’t break down and cry at some points, but I still felt—still feel lucky.’
Jill is taking time out from the small screen to begin treatment, including a mastectomy, but is hoping that she will not have to undergo chemotherapy.
She is also going under the knife for a hysterectomy in October, as the gene also enhances the risk of ovarian cancer.
‘The scary part of this is the unknown,’ the star added. ‘It’s going into a surgery and not knowing if you’re going to come out needing chemotherapy or radiation treatment—that is probably the scariest part to me.
‘I work better when I know there’s a project, when I know there’s a task to be completed.’
Jill also opened up about her condition in a poignant open letter published on Today.com, urging others to get checked out as soon as possible.
‘I am telling this story now because I couldn’t go through months of operations, and start to recover both physically and mentally, without shouting from the rooftops telling everyone to check with their doctors to see if genetic testing is appropriate,’ she wrote.
‘Different people cope in different ways; for me, I am not hiding under the covers crying. Instead, I want to do everything I can to beat this and protect my family.
‘Let me be clear: I am heartbroken for so many reasons, but mostly watching my parents watch me go through this. But I trust my father with every morsel of my being, and he told me, “We got this, and we will fight this together.” I am devastated and empowered, all at the same time.
‘Honestly, I am doing OK. I have a loving husband, amazing family and friends and an incredible support system. I have my head on straight and know exactly what needs to be done. Am I scared? Of course. Who wouldn’t be? But I know cancer has nothing on me. We lost my incredible grandmother to this disease because the science wasn’t there. But it is now, and I will know she is with me all the way.
‘I have been at the show for 15 years and have shared the happy, the exciting, the sad and now, the scary. Cancer messed with the wrong family — both my immediate family and, you, my TODAY family. We will crush this together.’
