"I am in shock, but at the same time I'm so grateful because it could be a very different story," the NBC morning show contributor tells PEOPLE
Helen Healey/NBC via Getty
Jill MartinThe Today show's Jill Martin has been diagnosed with breast cancer — just one week after she tested positive for the BRCA gene, the gene linked to a significantly higher possibility of developing breast or ovarian cancer.
"I am in shock, but at the same time I'm so grateful because it could be a very different story that we're talking about," Martin, 47, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "Of course I'm devastated. You hear the C-word and you think the worst. But after you hear the word and you absorb it, you then have to be your own best friend. And also having the platform to share my story has given me strength, because I feel like while I'm healing, I will be able to help literally save lives. And if I save one life from this, then this process will have been worth it for me."
For Martin the news comes as a particular shock because she had a clear mammogram just this year. "I had a mammogram in January and it was perfect!" she says.
But after a doctor suggested she get genetic testing during a series of aftercare appointments following fibroid surgery, Martin ordered an at home genetic test.
"I spit into this tube and I mailed it in and honestly I forgot about it, and three weeks later I got a call saying, 'You tested positive,'" she recalls.
Helen Healey/NBC via Getty
Jill MartinMartin made the difficult decision to opt for a preventive bilateral mastectomy. "I immediately went into producer mode—that's the only mode I know. I got the names of doctors. I set up appointments," she says. "I said to my husband, 'This isn't going to be the summer we thought it was going to be, but thank goodness that we caught it.' I actually felt lucky."
But less than a week later, Martin learned that the situation was more serious: she had already developed breast cancer, detected during a routine preoperative MRI.
"I went in and I remember she said it's cancer and I remember saying, 'Is it treatable?' And she said, 'Yes, yes, you're going to be okay,'" Martin recalls. "I'm not telling you I don't break down and cry at some points, but I still felt—still feel lucky."
Martin shared the news on the Today show Monday morning, and in an essay on Today.com. She'll begin a leave of absence effective immediately to undergo a bilateral mastectomy and begin additional treatment.
"I really would rather not have to have chemotherapy, but if that's something I have to deal with, I'll deal with it," Martin says. "The scary part of this is the unknown. It's going into a surgery and not knowing if you're going to come out needing chemotherapy or radiation treatment—that is probably the scariest part to me. I work better when I know there's a project, when I know there's a task to be completed."
"In the last 10 years there has been a huge amount of progress forward in figuring out where we can dial down the more aggressive treatments and still get the same amazing results," says Martin's surgeon, Dr. Elisa Port of NY's Mount Sinai Hospital. "There's no one-size-fits-all treatment anymore. We've gotten so good at customizing and tailoring treatments. It's precision medicine."
After the mastectomy, Martin plans on getting a preventative hysterectomy. "I'll have to have a hysterectomy in late October or around then in the fall, and then they do the second half of the reconstruction then," she says, adding that she's combatting her emotions by finding purpose and giving herself space to have many feelings.
"I guess I'm allowed to be all different things at the same time, they're not exclusive of each other," Martin says. "I'm allowed to be sad and scared and mad and angry and also grateful and lucky and proactive. You're allowed to be all those things together."
"You have two choices in any situation. It's either I could lay under the covers and cry, and believe me, I wake up in the morning sometimes and remember what's going on and feel that way. But honestly, having platforms like the Today show and PEOPLE and being able to scream this from the rooftops gives me peace. My focus is making sure my family's okay, making sure I have all my ducks in a row, which I do, and telling people: 'go get tested.'"
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