‘Today’ Contributor Jill Martin Shares Her Double Mastectomy Was Successful Amid Breast Cancer Journey

Jill Martin is giving fans an update amid her breast cancer journey, sharing that her recent double mastectomy was successful in a lengthy essay published Monday on Today.com. 

"The surgery was three weeks ago. Honestly, physically, I am doing OK. (Emotionally is a different story; it's been a roller coaster)," she began. "A week after my surgery, my 45-minute meeting with my oncologist, Dr. Joseph Sparano at Mount Sinai in New York City, started with the news that there is a good chance I am cancer-free, but I need further treatment to help ensure that."

The Today contributor went on to thank everyone who reached out to her amid her cancer journey, writing that she is so "touched, blown away and humbled" reading their messages.

She continued: "That really is what has helped me during this slow journey of healing. What I didn't realize was almost everyone I have spoken with has either been through a version of this or watched someone go through it. I personally think it is easier to go through it than watch your loved one suffer; at least, that has been my experience with my family. It hurts me the most watching them watch me go through this. It shakes a family and a household. The past three weeks have felt like a lifetime."

Martin then shared that she will find out her "exact next steps and treatment plan" this week, adding that she knows she will have to have a preventative full hysterectomy at some point to "decrease my risk of ovarian cancer." She also wrote that she will have to "take anti-hormonal drugs for 5 years" and "most likely need chemotherapy because of the aggressiveness of the tumor."

The Emmy Award winner thanked her "incredible" doctors and nurses for their ongoing support and care amid her diagnosis before penning an empowering message about her health journey.

"Cancer has knocked me down. It has. 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," she wrote. "But I did that when I first started recovery ... and 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."

Martin first shared her story in an essay published on Today.com in July, revealing her breast cancer diagnosis came after she took a genetics at-home saliva test. 

"June 26 at 3:30 p.m. I remember saying to myself, 'My life is never going to be the same.' It was the day I was told I had breast cancer," she wrote. "I had always feared this day would come, but I never really thought it would."