Robin Roberts has announced that Friday will be her last day on “Good Morning America,” before she begins medical leave to treat the blood and bone marrow disease myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
The “GMA” host said on Monday that she’ll check into the hospital next Tuesday.
“I’ll begin the process,” Roberts said. “It still takes about 10 days after being admitted because there are some things you have to go through before the transplant actually occurs.”
“GMA,” which plans to celebrate Roberts throughout the week with a series called “Robin’s Journey,” also announced the news on its Twitter account, writing, “Friday will be @RobinRoberts’ last day before leaving for her bone marrow transplant and treatment for MDS.”
The TV personality, who is also a breast cancer survivor, talked about her sadness about being away from her dog KJ while receiving treatment.
“KJ has been in my life almost 15 years. She’s up in Maine now because when you have a bone marrow transplant you don’t have an immune system for a while. And you’re very susceptible to infection. And having a dog coming in and out [is not possible.]” she said. “That was really hard.”
In June, after announcing she had MDS, Roberts vowed to overcome the disease.
“My doctors tell me I’m going to beat this — and I know it’s true,” she said in a statement at the time.
Adding, “I’ve been living with this diagnosis for awhile and will continue to anchor ‘GMA.’ I love what I do and the people with whom I do it. Along with my faith, family and friends, all of you at ABC News give me the motivation and energy to face this challenge.”
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