Jill Martin is “doing OK” physically after undergoing a double mastectomy amid her cancer battle — and she wants to share her story with fans.
“What an earth-shattering six weeks. It feels like both yesterday and a lifetime since the last time I walked into Studio 1A,” Martin, 47, wrote in an essay for the Today show on Monday, August 7, following another appearance on the talk show. “In the past six weeks, I learned I am positive for a BRCA2 mutation, had stage 2 breast cancer, then had a double mastectomy and learned that my life will soon look very different.”
The Today contributor previously announced on July 17 that her gene mutation — the BRCA gene is linked to a significantly higher possibility of developing breast or ovarian cancer — is what caused her breast cancer. Martin is now three weeks into her recovery from a double mastectomy and while her cancer battle isn’t over, her health has taken a positive turn.
“Emotionally is a different story; it’s been a roller-coaster,” Martin confessed on Monday, noting that one week after her surgery she had a meeting with her oncologist. “[It] started with the news that there is a good chance I am cancer-free, but I need further treatment to help ensure that.”
Once Martin’s results from her biopsied tissue test came back, the doctors told her “they believed they had gotten it all.” Martin further explained that she had “an aggressive tumor removed” during the procedure and the surgeon removed 18 lymph nodes from her breast, one of which was cancerous.
“There is always a small possibility that cancerous cells could have escaped, so the rest of the meeting was dedicated to planning out my long road ahead, and what the doctor suggests I do to prevent this insidious disease from coming back,” Martin continued.
Martin explained that “the past three weeks have felt like a lifetime” and despite the fear associated with her health battle, she did smile after her surgery thanks to the nurses.
“The first time I looked in the mirror after my mastectomy, [nurse] La Rae said to me, ‘You are under construction.’ It was the first time I laughed,” she recalled. “And I realized I am allowed to cry, to mourn, to smile, to laugh. To be.”
Later this week, Martin will receive her “exact next steps and treatment plan” from her doctors. She noted that no matter what comes next, Martin will have to have another surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes as a preventative measure to “decrease my risk” of ovarian cancer.
“In my case, I will need a full hysterectomy, as I have had fibroid issues in the past. I will also need to take anti-hormonal drugs for 5 years,” Martin outlined. “And I will most likely need chemotherapy because of the aggressiveness of the tumor. That is the part that hit me the hardest — the idea of chemo.”
Martin revealed she is still “in a state of shock” following her whirlwind diagnosis and surgery. “There was not a lot of time to process upfront, and a lot of that is going on now after the fact. Cancer has knocked me down. It has,” she admitted. “I used to jump out of bed every day to begin work, but now every day is a choice. Do I feel like staying under the covers and crying? Yes. Every day.”
Martin recalled staying in bed when she first started recovery, sharing, “Little by little, like today, I am choosing to get up. I am choosing to fight. And I am choosing to use my strength and platform to do my best to crush cancer.”
As Martin continues treatment — and keeps fighting — she said she will be “on and off the air” for the next six months.
“I thought it was important to share this journey with you in real time. I have shared the happy, the sad and now the scary,” she concluded. “We will get through this together.”
