Al Roker, the Today Show’s longtime weatherman and co-host, announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Al Roker Announces Cancer Diagnosis
The 66-year-old revealed the news on the Today Show, informing viewers that he will be undergoing surgery to have his prostate removed.
“It’s a good news-bad news kind of thing,” Roker said on the show. “Good news is we caught it early. Not great news is that it’s a little aggressive, so I’m going to be taking some time off to take care of this.”
Now in his 42nd year with the show, Roker noted he publically announced his diagnosis to bring attention to prostate cancer, reporting that 1 in 9 men overall, and 1 in 7 African American men, will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
“The problem for African American men is that any number of reasons from genetics to access to health care, and so we want to make it available and let people know they got to get checked,” Roker said.
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It’s a cause that the Today Show stalwart has long championed, and he urges all men to see a doctor and get the proper checkup, as this is a cancer that if detected early enough, is very treatable.
In 2013, Roker got a prostate exam live on the show, and last year, he teamed with New Jersey Devils player Craig Melvin on a PSA about prostate health.
Roker will undergo surgery sometime next week at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, performed by Dr. Vincent Laudone, who also appeared on the show.
“Fortunately, his cancer appears somewhat limited or confined to the prostate, but because it’s more aggressive, we wanted to treat it, and after discussion regarding all of the different options—surgery, radiation, focal therapy—we settled on removing the prostate,” Laudone said.
If all goes well, Roker shared he would be back to his Today Show duties in about two weeks. Entertainment Hub joins the Today Show faithful in wishing Roker a speedy recovery.
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