Andrea Mitchell, one of NBC's most acclaimed correspondents, revealed on air Wednesday that she is battling breast cancer.
The award-winning broadcast journalist announced the news on her show, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports. "I am now among the one in eight women in this country -- incredibly, one in eight -- who have had breast cancer," she said, adding that the disease was caught early during her annual check-up just last week.
Mitchell, 64, said she realizes the prognosis could've been so much worse.
"Luckily for me, I am one of the fortunate ones; we discovered it in the earliest stage, it hadn't spread, and I'm already back at work with a terrific prognosis."
Because Mitchell's breast cancer did not require invasive treatment, she could have returned to work without releasing the private health information, but she chose to publicly commit herself to a cause that is already close to her heart. She encouraged women to get themselves checked every year.
"I'm looking at this as another of life's lessons," Mitchell said. "For you women out there and the men who love you, screening matters. Do it. This disease can be completely curable if you find it at the right time."
