Amy Robach has revealed that she has not had recommended blood work for over 18 months, due to the ongoing fear that her breast cancer may return. The former GMA3 host made the emotional revelation during her podcast episode with partner TJ Holmes, who asked her why she had not yet called her doctors, and revealed his own fears that he would lose the women he loved.
"The last time I had blood work done was August 2022 and it's been weighing on me as up to that point I was having it done every six months as recommended by my oncologist," shared Amy, "but then all hell broke loose. We were going through our hell and it was the last thing on my mind."
© Raymond HallTJ, who shared their own concerns for Amy and his surprise to learn that she had not been to see her doctor then asked her why she had still not had it done, and Amy bravely shared her own experiences.
"Because I think anyone who has survived this knows that when you go in for the blood work it's emotional because they are looking for tumor markers," she claimed. "If it was to come back in the places you don't want it to…a blood test that shows a marker means you would be facing terminal cancer, and the fear of that leaves you in the mindset of 'I would rather not know'."
© InstagramTJ, however, then shared his own perspective, admitting that it "bothers him" that Amy, and many other women, are afraid to go see their doctors.
"It bothers me and scares me that we have gone through a decade together as friends – you've saved my life in a lot of ways – and then all we've been through to get to this point," he revealed, "and I have to pause because all I am hearing is [that] this women, who I have been through all this with, isn't doing all she can to make sure we have as much time together as we can."
"And this is your body, your struggle, but I feel bad and selfish for having that thought," he continued, to which Amy responded that she knew her parents would feel the same way and it was not selfish.
© @ajrobachThe pair were also joined by Dr. Elizabeth Comen, who spoke about the gender gap when it comes to healthcare, and why women are not treated the same as men. Dr Comen also cleared up Amy's fears, sharing that not all tumor markers that appear in blood work are "necessarily cancer, as lots of other things can elevate them".
Listen to the full podcast for more on this topic here.
Amy battled breast cancer in 2013, and has been helping to raise awareness and funds for the disease ever since. At the time of her diagnosis, Amy was working as an anchor on Good Morning America, and she was assigned to have a mammogram performed live television in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, which is where they discovered the lump on air.
In November 2022, Amy opened up to HELLO! about the challenging time in her life, while attending the Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Research Foundation Luncheon in New York City.
"So many of us have leaned on each other and supported each other and it's been great to have a vehicle and a platform to talk about this cause, but also to have the incredible co-workers I have," she said.
