This week’s announcement that Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts has breast cancer came as a complete shock to me.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news!I always thought of Robin as the epitome of good health but this just goes to show you that cancer can strike anyone at anytime. Robin and I are are not only members of the same sorority but the former ESPN anchor was named a “Spectacular Baby Boomer Diva” in my book Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age.

In her own words, Robin outlined how she came to discover the cancer: “It all started a few weeks ago. We had gotten the news that our dear colleague and friend Joel Siegel had passed away and we began preparing for our special tribute show for him. I did a piece about Joel's courageous battle with cancer, reporting on the way my friend had lived his life and been such a successful advocate for the importance of early cancer screenings. That very night when I went to bed, I did a self breast exam and found something that women everywhere fear: I found a lump.

At first I thought, "This can't be. I am a young, healthy woman." Nevertheless, I faced my fear head on and made an appointment to see the doctor. Much as I was hoping the doctor would say it was nothing, she did a biopsy and confirmed that the lump I'd found was indeed an early form of breast cancer.

Hearing the doctor say those words out loud was surreal.”

Despite the news, I believeearly detection may have saved Robin’s life and her actions should be a wake-up call for women everywhere---especially African-American women.We must be vigilant when it comes to our health.What happened to Robin can happen to any one of us and if we ignore it we are doomed.

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