Hoda Kotb Hopes for a Breast Cancer Cure

"Not bully quality for you."

Those five jarring words are stuck in Hoda Kotb's memory from a February 2007 telephone telephone with a doc informing her that she had bosom cancer.

"I deliberation I conscionable blacked retired for the remainder of it," the Today co-anchor shared with E! News successful an exclusive interview. "But it deed maine similar a hammer. I was shocked. We've done a cardinal stories connected radical who said, ‘I didn't deliberation it would beryllium me' and that's however I felt."

For Hoda, she was healthy, had nary household past and was lone 43 years old. But adjacent to 15 years aft her conflict with cancer, the writer is looking backmost connected her travel and sharing what she privation she knew the time a hard diagnosis changed everything.

"I was conscionable frightened I was gonna die," Hoda, present 58, said. "In hindsight, I privation that I had gone earlier to get checked. But successful that moment, I wasn't reasoning astir that. I was conscionable reasoning astir living."

After landing her imagination job astatine Today and adopting Haley Joy, 5, and Hope, 3, the talk-show big says she feels truthful brave astatine this chapter of her life.

"I consciousness similar the satellite is retired determination for maine and the champion years are up for me," she said. "The acquisition of being fearless is astonishing due to the fact that it lets you live. If you're afraid, you're not living. If you're afraid, you're sheltered. If you're afraid, you're staying inside. If you're afraid, you're not gathering somebody. But erstwhile you're fearless, you get the full world."

While October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month brings up a wide assortment of emotions for Hoda, she welcomes the accidental to amended women and fto them cognize they are not alone.

Jenna Bush Hager connected Hoda Kotb's Inspiring Breast Cancer Journey

She urges followers to enactment themselves archetypal and get screened for bosom cancer. The erstwhile Dateline analogous besides likes to dispersed the connection that a hard diagnosis oregon connection from a doc doesn't person to past forever.

"My champion years of my beingness were each station cancer," she said. "All the champion years happened aft that. That was not the extremity by immoderate stretch. That was the beginning." 

And possibly the cliche that everything happens for a crushed truly is existent for Hoda. Her travel allowed the anchor to turn her household with 2 daughters she can't ideate beingness without. And though her health battles made her unable to transportation children of her own, Hoda said, "God enactment them successful my beingness astatine the cleanable time."

And portion Haley Joy and Hope don't adjacent cognize that Mom was sick, 1 time they volition observe conscionable however brave she was. 

"I'll astir apt conscionable fto them cognize astir it due to the fact that we get stronger successful the breached places and I anticipation they cognize that," she said. "They were retired determination waiting for me. I had to get done that horrible travel first. But they were waiting for maine and I was waiting for them and we came unneurotic conscionable erstwhile we were expected to."

Today airs weekdays astatine 7 americium connected NBC.

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