Amy Robach 'Thought She Was Going to Die' When She Was Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
Jan. 16 2024, Published 1:34 p.m. ET
Amy Robach has been cancer-free for many years, but it doesn't mean she doesn't think about the past.
On the Tuesday, January 16, episode of the "Amy and T.J. Podcast," the former Good Morning America star confessed she's still worried about the disease returning.
“I really appreciate your honesty and your transparency,” Robach, 50, said while speaking with Tim Whittaker and Valley Collins, survivors of the "Miracle on the Hudson." “Because when the unthinkable happens —when the thing that is almost impossible, actually happens to you — that fear is real. And fear is a powerful thing.”
“When people say, ‘'Oh, what are the chances?’ You can say, ‘Actually, if it’s less than 1 percent, if it happens to you, it’s everything. It’s 100 percent,'" she shared. "And living then your life, knowing that your greatest fear could actually happen, is crippling in moments."
Robach learned she had cancer after getting a mammogram live on GMA. She later got a double mastectomy and went through eight rounds of chemotherapy, with her final round of treatment being in April 2014.
During that tough time, Robach "thought she was going to die" when she was diagnosed, and she's still fearful when she gets her checkups.
Robach has spoken about her cancer battle and explained why she still drinks alcohol. "I knew this past year was an anomaly. It was not a year that hopefully will ever be repeated, but it's been weighing heavily on me," she said. "Not just about the amount of alcohol that I consumed but also what I know about alcohol and cancer - and specifically b----- cancer."
"I will say this because I'm someone who lives with recurrences. All b----- cancer survivors do. There's no scientific proof as of yet, but most doctors believe because it raises your estrogen levels, especially if you have a hormone-positive cancer like I did, it would make sense that it would raise your chance for reassurance," she said.
However, she told her listeners to "err on the side of caution" when it comes to having an alcoholic beverage.
"I know that that's such an important part of my life. I have changed my diet. I have changed my exercise. I have focused on sleep," the TV star, who started dating T.J. Holmes after working together. "But alcohol has been something that I haven't fully committed to reducing — and in fact, as I pointed out last year, I increased."
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"I always drink to enhance joy," she explained. "I love that little extra kick. I like to laugh. It's probably my favorite thing to do in life. And so if you have that drink in hand, you laugh a little more. You dance a little more. Life just gets a little more fun as long as you know not to drink too much. That has always been a part of what I love about the experience of drinking. It's just getting that little extra boost, I guess, is the way I would put it."