Robin Roberts has opened up about her emotional return to Good Morning America in 2013 after undergoing a bone marrow transplant.
The anchor, 64, fought back tears while reflecting on the highs and lows of the ABC show ahead of its 50th anniversary on November 3.
“It was a day I wasn’t sure was going to happen,” Roberts told USA Today about her return to the show following the medical leave of absence. She recalled her sisters and doctors joined the live studio audience to welcome her back that day.
“I was proud to be able to show people: Let me be a living, breathing example to you that this too shall pass,” she said.
Roberts left the show in September 2012 after being diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare type of blood cancer, that led her to get a bone marrow transplant from her sister.
After her recovery period, Roberts returned to the show on February 20, 2013, and famously said, “I have been waiting 174 days to say this: ‘Good Morning America.’” She went on to make an appearance at that year’s Oscars four days later.
Co-anchor George Stephanopoulos, who joined Roberts at the desk in December 2009, also recalled Roberts’ comeback as the most memorable moment on the job.
“It was just the most joyful moment ever for me on the show because it seemed like a reuniting of our family both inside the studio and in our connection with the audience,” Stephanopoulos told USA Today. “And when she said, ‘Good morning America’ for the first time, it was explosive.”
Roberts has been diagnosed with cancer twice in her life: the first in 2007, when doctors caught her early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. She treated the cancer with radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery.
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In 2012, she received a Peabody Award for the ABC News program Robin’s Journey, and was recognized for making her public battle with the blood disease into a “teachable moment” to raise awareness for bone marrow donors.
The journalist has been in remission since her transplant and openly advocates for cancer research and bone marrow donations, often candidly speaking about her experience on the morning show.
Roberts, who has worked at Good Morning America for 30 years, described how proud she is of the show ahead of its major anniversary.
“It’s the greatest name for a program,” Roberts said. “It is trying to say to those that are watching, ‘We’re going to find the good. And it is a privilege to really try your best to set the tone for someone’s day.”
