Tom Brokaw Opens Up About Cancer Battle

Tom Brokaw has fought cancer and is now in remission, something he says would not have been possible without his wife, Meredith.

“I couldn’t have gotten through it without her,” the 75-year-old news veteran told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Wednesday’s Access Hollywood Live.

The “A Lucky Life Interrupted” author explained that getting diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a cancer that affects blood cells in the bone marrow) was almost a diagnosis for his wife and three children.

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“I think the lesson of the book, is that you may get cancer, [but] the whole family gets cancer in a way because it becomes a family disease and when it moves in. It takes over everyone’s life,” he continued.

And his rock during his struggle was his wife of 53 years.

“Meredith has been cool, calm and extremely well organized. She knew what meds I should be taking when, what they were for,” he told Billy and Kit. “It was very helpful to have her there. She had that same great sense of humor and patience.”

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The former NBC Nightly News anchor also shared how he found out he had cancer.

“It was quite blunt. I was sitting in a room not expecting this at all,” he recalled. “I was extremely calm, I think in part because I am a journalist. I’m used to dealing with tough news. The first thing I thought was about my family.”

Brokaw is also dealing with another ailment related to his cancer.

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“I did have a great deal of bone damage. My spine had four fractures in it, they had to go in and repair it and I ended up losing two inches of height,” he said, explaining that he’s now 5′ 9″. “My daughters love to come to me and say, ‘You’re no longer the big man of the house.'”

Luckily, the news veteran has turned a corner in his cancer battle.

“I’m in remission, which is the most comforting thing,” he said. “We’ve had great success with the treatment. I just had a test again last week and it’s all looking very good.”

“A Lucky Life Interrupted” is available on May 12 and “Tom Brokaw: A Lucky Life Interrupted” airs on “Dateline” on Thursday at 10 PM on NBC.

— Jesse Spero

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