Tom Brokaw Opens Up About Cancer Journey: ‘I Didn’t Know What I Was In For’


Tom Brokaw, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in August 2013, says his battle against the disease was far more than he ever bargained for.

On Thursday, Tom Brokaw, 75, shared stories of his journey through cancer treatment in a special edition of NBC’s Dateline, reports Access Hollywood.

Prior to the the airing of the emotionally charged episode, Tom Brokaw published an essay on NBC News about his experiences with multiple myeloma, hoping to bring attention to the treatable cancer.

Tom Brokaw said he learned that he had cancer from his doctors at the Mayo Clinic.

“They turned to me and Dr. Morie Gertz said, “You’ve got a malignancy. It’s called multiple myeloma. And you know people who’ve died from it.”

According to Tom Brokaw, the news didn’t shock or surprise him in the moment.

“I didn’t go into a meltdown of some kind. I was very cool about it. I was kind of in two parts: I was operating as a journalist human being, and the other part was kind of on the outside looking in saying, ‘This is a big deal, you’ve got to stay cool.'”

However, Tom Brokaw said he was in no way prepared for what was to come.

“I didn’t know what I was in for. I’m a guy who’s had great good fortune in his life. And everything has kind of gone in my direction. And so I couldn’t imagine that I was going to go through the ordeal that it turned out to be.”

Family and friends helped to sustain the long-time news anchor, according to Tom Brokaw.

“Treating cancer is a family cause. My family is not only attractive — I can say that because I’m paterfamilias — but they’re really smart, and they’re very, very compassionate. They’re all involved in one way or another. My daughter Sarah’s the therapist. My daughter Andrea and her husband, Charles Simon, are very active with social causes. My daughter Jennifer’s a doctor.”

“My wife Meredith is Meredith. She’s always been very special, not just to me, but to everybody that she’s ever met. I can say that objectively.”

Even Tom Brokaw’s colleagues proved to be a source of support for the newsman, despite the fact he tried to keep it from them for some time out of his need for privacy.

“But it was very, very touching to know how concerned everybody was. When I got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, I wrote to everyone saying, “This is yours as much as it is mine. Over the years you and everyone else has pulled me across so many lines.”

Did you catch the NBC special on Tom Brokaw? What are your thoughts?

[Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images for Meet the Press]

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