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Moved by her struggle, many Black women became motivated to perform self-exams and get annual mammograms. Robin also encouraged women’s fitness by confiding that while being fit didn’t prevent her from getting cancer, it certainly helped her fight it.

By January of 2008. after making a full recovery, we cheered as we watched Robin Roberts celebrate her victory over breast cancer with a triumphant return to Good Morning America.

Five years after beating breast cancer, in January of 2012, the world was once again stunned and shocked when Robin Roberts bravely announced yet another life and death battle had presented itself in her life. Ironically enough, Robin received the diagnosis on the very day that Good Morning America finally beat the Today Show for the first time in 16 years. Her announcement was simple and courageous;

“Today, I want to let you know that I’ve been diagnosed with MDS or myelodysplastic syndrome. It’s a disease of the blood and bone marrow and was once known as pre-leukemia.”

Amazingly enough, once again Robin’s selfless desire to share her fight for life motivated people in a mighty way. Noting that bone marrow donors are scarce, particularly for African-American women, Robin encouraged everyone to sign up on a donor registry.

Be-the-Match Registry, a nonprofit organization run by the National Marrow Donor Program, experienced an 1,800% spike in donors the day Ms. Roberts went public with her illness.

Since announcing her diagnosis, more than 56,000 people have come forward to register to become bone marrow donors. Robin was fortunate enough to have a sister who was an excellent match which greatly improved her chances for a cure.

Robin Roberts: “I Choose To Be Fearless”  was originally published on blackdoctor.org

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.