Robin Roberts never let a little thing like cancer get her down.
Five years after beating breast cancer, the Good Morning America cohost dropped a bombshell today announcing she's been diagnosed with MDS, or myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood and bone-marrow disease that will require her to undergo a bone-marrow transplant.
But the good news? The odds of survival are very much in her favor.
"My doctors tell me I'm going to beat this—and I know it's true," she wrote on the GMA website. "If you Google MDS, you may find some scary stuff, including statistics that my doctors insist don't apply to me. They say I'm younger and fitter than most people who confront this disease and will be cured."
Per the 51-year-old Roberts, the disease, once known as preleukemia, was a complication from her treatment for breast cancer. As a result, today she plans to start pre-treatment with chemotherapy before she undergoes a bone-marrow transplant later this year.
She noted: "Bone-marrow donors are scarce and particularly for African-American women. I am very fortunate to have a sister who is an excellent match, and this greatly improves my chances for a cure."
The morning gabber subsequently encouraged viewers to sign up to become a bone-marrow donor at bethematch.org.
If there's one consolation, says Roberts, it was finding out about having MDS on the day Good Morning America surpassed The Today Show in the ratings for the first time in 16 years.
"Talk about your highs and lows!" she wrote
Don't expect the diagnosis to slow her down any. Roberts says she'll continue anchoring GMA, though when she undergoes her transplant later this year, she'll "miss a chunk of time."
The broadcaster adds she's "always been a fighter, and with all of your prayers and support, a winner."
"When I faced breast cancer, your prayers and good wishes sustained me, gave me such hope and played a major role in my recovery," she said. "In facing this new challenge, I ask humbly for more of your prayers and love—as I will keep you in my mine and update you regularly on my condition."
Get well, Robin!