Cancer Survivor Robin Roberts Is Passionately Pushing for Equality in Healthcare
"You're fighting for your life. So let's do what we can to make sure that everybody has the same opportunity to face it, and beat it.”
Robin Roberts says her purpose in life has become very simple: “I just want to be a big ol’ messenger.”
As an anchor at ABC’s Good Morning America, Roberts strives to use her position to shed light on important issues. She also takes great joy in supporting others and spreading positivity. “I'm an eternal optimist," she tells Parade. "I do not apologize for it. And optimism is a muscle that gets stronger with use. Early on, I got in the habit of being optimistic. And boy, has it served me well, especially through my health challenges.”
The morning TV personality has been through so much. Five years after surviving triple-negative breast cancer, Roberts was diagnosed in 2012 with a rare blood disorder called myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Doctors told Roberts her only chance for survival was a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully, her sister, Sally-Ann, was a perfect match, and Roberts received the life-saving transplant.
Since then, she has made it her mission to encourage everyone to join the bone marrow donor registry. A big part of that effort is the One Match, Second Chance initiative in which GMA and Be the Match teamed up to raise awareness about the bone marrow donation process.
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Spotlighting the Positive Outcomes of Marrow Donations
Recently, GMA showed the emotional on-air moment when a donor and recipient met for the first time. “We've done that a few times over the years,” Roberts says. “And it's just always so great to see that.”
Roberts says powerful scenes like those are the best way to illustrate the impact donations can have—and help motivate the audience to take action. “I firmly believe that we inherently as human beings want to find a way to help and to do something. Oftentimes, we feel helpless. But this is a way to make a huge difference through something as simple as a swab.” [Author’s note: I have been on the donor registry for many years and can attest that the process of registering is super simple and painless.]
The bone marrow registry is a critical resource because only about 30 percent of people who need a transplant have a family member who is a close enough match to be a donor. “I was very fortunate that my sister was a perfect match because my other siblings were not,” Roberts says, adding that bone marrow can represent a precious miracle for people with many different medical conditions. “It's not just cancer, it's sickle cell anemia and around 70 other diseases that could potentially be cured through a bone marrow transplant.”
Addressing the Inequities in Healthcare
Roberts says it’s important to recognize the gaps in the healthcare system for women—particularly women of color—in order to work toward solutions. She had triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of breast cancer that has often advanced by the time it is detected. Women of color are at a higher risk of this form of breast cancer and have a lower chance of survival when they get it. Roberts says that’s why it’s so important to be diligent about getting routine mammograms. “If you have dense breast tissue—which I did—ask for a secondary screening. Thankfully, my doctors did that.”
Promoting diversity on the donor registry can help save lives. “Disparities can impact every step of cancer from incidents to diagnosis, treatment and donation,” Roberts explains. “One Match, Second Chance aims to help increase the ethnic diversity of the donor registry—and that matters because patients are most likely to match with donors who share the same ethnic background, so increasing the ethnic diversity of the database increases a patient's odds of finding their life-saving match.”
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An Agent for Advocacy, Awareness and Hope
Early on in her health journey, Roberts debated how much she wanted to share publicly. She says it was her mother, Lucimarian—who passed away shortly before Roberts received her bone marrow transplant—who urged Roberts to use her platform as a way to help others.
“She said, ‘Honey, you are blessed, you have resources. There are those who go through it who don't. So make your mess your message.’”
Many people have told Roberts that she has had a big impact simply by showing up every morning on GMA while going through treatment. “They saw me bald, they saw me barely 100 pounds. But they see me now thriving. And it gives them hope for whatever they're going through, whether it’s a health crisis or another challenge. Everybody's got something. I just love being the symbol to people that this too shall pass, whatever it is.”
Roberts is quick to point out that countless people, most of them unsung heroes doing selfless acts behind the scenes, play a role in the donor movement. “People say, ‘Oh, Robin, you have increased the registry.’ And I'm like, ‘No, I didn't, our viewers did.’ They're the ones that increase the registry, not me. I'm just a messenger.”
In addition to raising awareness by sharing donation success stories and educating the public about the donor registry, Roberts is also actively involved in fundraising for medical research and sharing her insight in advisory roles, such as by serving on the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees.
“I just had breakfast recently with Shelley Ross, a former executive producer of Good Morning America who is now the president of The Cure Alliance. We often talk about awareness, which is great. But let's get to a cure. The Cure Alliance is a nonprofit with a mission to help research scientists accelerate the pace of their discoveries from the lab to the patient's bedside.”
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Support Resources Are Invaluable, but Often Lacking
One of Roberts’ major goals is to advocate not only for advances in medical treatment but also for a better safety net system to support patients and their families. She notes that women often struggle with feeling like they have to try to do it all, even when dealing with a health crisis. “Sometimes we have to remind them that you don't have to be superwoman. It is O.K. to ask for help. But then also, we have to make sure that there is help for them when they're asking for it.”
She adds that she knows just how lucky she was, and still is. “I am extremely blessed. I had loving family and friends. I had a job that was going to still be there for me. I didn't have to worry about some things that others going through this do, especially women, and especially those in underserved communities. It's not fair. You're fighting for your life. So let's do what we can to make sure that everybody has the same opportunity to face it, and beat it.”
And, she adds, cancer doesn't discriminate. "It doesn't care how rich or poor you are, if you’re black or white, gay or straight—it doesn't matter. Can we level the playing field a little bit and give everybody the same opportunity to beat this terrible disease?”
Next up, find out the 9 biggest signs of breast cancer in women—and when to see a doctor.
