Giuliana Rancic Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis on ‘Today’

E! personality Giuliana Rancic appeared on the Today show today to discuss her reality show Giuliana & Bill, part of which documents the host’s struggle to conceive.

Rancic, who is 36, says she initially balked at receiving a mammogram due to her age. But her doctor wisely pointed out the risk in getting pregnant if cancer was a concern. The E! star says:

“Through my attempt to get pregnant for the third time, through IVF, we sadly found out that I have early stages of breast cancer. It’s been a shock… This doctor said you need a mammogram and I said, ‘Why, I’m 36 years old, I’m too young,’ and he said … ‘I will not get you pregnant if [there’s] possibly the small risk you have cancer.'”

Rancic continued:

“So I went and got a mammogram … they called me the next day and said we need you to come back, we see something,” she said. Upon hearing the news, Rancic says, “It was like incredible instant sobbing and the world just crashed around me.”

The star confirms that the cancer was detected very early, but that she still must endure several weeks of radiation and treatment. Rancic disclosed that she would be undergoing surgery this week, but that she still hoped for a baby. She explains:

“I still want that baby. I always said there was some master plan of why IVF didn’t work, why I never got pregnant, and now I truly believe that God was looking out for me,” she said. “Had I gotten pregnant, a few years down the line I could be a lot sicker.”

Earlier this month, Rancic spoke out about a miscarriage she had recently experienced during her struggle to get pregnant.