In May 2012 "Good Morning America" host Robin Roberts got the interview of her life when President Obama announced his support for gay marriage in front of her.
But just a month later Roberts would have her own major announcement: Her cancer was back.
And it was every cancer survivors’ worse nightmare. The treatment that helped her beat breast cancer years before had now led her to a more serious health problem.
"Sometimes treatment for cancer can lead to other serious medical issues and that’s what I’m facing right now," she told viewers. "The reason I am sharing this with everybody right now is because later today I begin what’s known as pre-treatment."
Roberts was referring to treatment for a bone marrow transplant to treat her blood related cancer. She’s been off the air since June.
In a new interview that aired Monday on New Orleans’ WWL-TV Roberts tells her sister and donor, Sally-Ann, about her setback following recovery from the bone marrow transplant.
Robin described the hospital stay as "just a little tune-up, check under the hood, kick the tires a little bit. And uh, it’s not a journey that goes like this, it’s a journey that zig-zags and there are complications and things like that. But I feel good, I feel stronger every day, I’m past the halfway mark for the hundred days, which is the most critical portion of the time, so I am blessed."
Bone marrow transplants are often the only treatment for blood-related cancers.
But African-Americans are least likely to find at least one potential match compared to other race groups, according to Black Bone Marrow group. Blacks only have an estimated 66% likelihood of having a donor on the national registry who is willing and able to donate. For whites its 93%
Visit Marrow.org to find out more about bone marrow donation and sign up for a registration kit.