Hoda Kotb by Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Hoda Kotb, the coanchor of the fourth hour of NBC's Today show, announced today that she had a mastectomy earlier this year after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Kotb, who has been with NBC News since 1992, revealed her personal story Thursday morning on Today, sharing excerpts from a video diary she kept during the days before and after the surgery.
"Cancer gave me the gift of being fearless," Kotb told colleague Ann Curry on Today, in the first of two segments presented today (the second is planned for Friday). "What I get from this whole horrible ordeal is 'You can’t scare me.'"
Kotb said she was encouraged by a stranger she met on an airplane to share the experience with viewers. "I’m six months after a mastectomy and I feel great," she said. "There’s hope out there."
At the end of the first part of the tear-filled segment, Kotb jokingly asked for makeup. —Reporting by Stephen Battaglio
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