Journalist and former Good Morning America cohost Joan Lunden considers her breast cancer diagnosis a gift — and by chronicling her breast cancer journey publicly over the years, she’s creating a proud legacy.
In a March 2024 Today Show interview, Lunden, 72, recalled her mindset in the wake of her diagnosis after deciding to bring the public along on her journey. “In that moment, I changed myself from a victim into an advocate … and that made that cancer battle so much easier to go through.” And now, she says, her social media followers tell her, “You took the scary out of it for me.”
Lunden’s cancer journey started when she had her annual mammogram in early June 2014, and the result was negative. She also had her usual follow-up ultrasound because her breasts have dense, fibrous tissue. This time, however, a tumor was identified in her right breast, which a core biopsy later confirmed to be cancer.
“I sat there stunned — how could this be?” Lunden shared in her blog. “I considered myself fit and healthy, I get checked faithfully every year, and I didn’t have a history of breast cancer in my family.”
She took immediate action and underwent chemotherapy followed by a lumpectomy and radiation. At the same time, Lunden, whose father was a cancer surgeon, is using her experience to raise awareness about the importance of breast cancer screenings, breast self-exams, and early detection.
“I know I have a challenge ahead of me in this journey, however I have chosen to take it as an opportunity to fulfill my father’s legacy and try to inspire others to protect their health,” she wrote in her blog.