Amy Robach Cuts Hair Short to "Take Control" Away From Breast Cancer—Watch Now

Good Morning American correspondent undergoing chemotherapy describes "taking control of something that I have very little control of"

By Rebecca Macatee Jan 15, 2014 4:46 PMTags

Amy Robach didn't want cancer and the effects of chemotherapy to have control over everything, so the Good Morning America correspondent decided she would make the choice to cut her hair short.

On Wednesday, Jan. 15, the 40-year-old mother of two opened up about her decision to "take control" away from breast cancer in a visible way, writing in a personal post for ABC News that, "Having cancer is one thing, LOOKING like you have cancer is another thing. It's a disease that already takes so much."

ABC/Lou Rocco

The journalist, who has completed two out of eight rounds of chemotherapy, "started to notice, slowly, but surely," that her hair was falling out. So, as she said before heading to the salon, she was "taking control of something that I have very little control of...I'm going to cut my hair very short."

"I've never done this before, but I want to say that I have something to do with how I look, not the cancer," she said. "I'm sharing this because I want all the women who have gone through it, who are going through it now, and who will be going through it, to know two things. That you're not alone and that you too can be brave."

ABC

Amy got teary during the cut, later saying the effects of chemo were more draining emotionally than physically. But when she looked in the mirror at her new, empowered short locks, she smiled and said, "It's like a fresh start—a new chapter."

Her GMA family raved about the new look on Wednesday's show, praising Amy for her bravery in sharing her story. It was actually thanks to an on-air mammogram in October 2013 that she learned about her breast cancer diagnosis and was able to seek treatment.

In mid-November, her doctors performed a bilateral mastectomy followed by reconstructive surgery. The surgery went well, and as Amy's doctors told her bluntly, "That mammogram just saved your life."

"I can only hope my story will do the same and inspire every woman who hears it to get a mammogram, to take a self-exam," she wrote. "No excuses. It is the difference between life and death."