Jill Martin will be undergoing surgery following complications from her breast cancer treatment.
“Just when you think the fight is over, life reminds you that healing isn’t always linear,” Martin, 49, shared during the Friday, January 9, episode of Today.
Martin revealed that her skin was damaged by radiation therapy and she is having surgery to repair it. This will be her eighth procedure since her cancer diagnosis in 2023. (Martin previously underwent reconstructive surgery and preventative surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes.)
“It’s preventative and proactive — an emergency only in the sense that if we don’t act now, it could turn into something much bigger,” the Today contributor told the outlet while reiterating her “cancer is not back.”
According to Martin, she will be in the hospital for at least three nights. She will then recover at home for a few weeks.
“I feel worn out and grateful all at once,” she said. “Sometimes it feels like it never really ends. And still — I’m grateful. Grateful for early action, for great doctors, and for the chance to keep moving forward.”
In July 2023, Martin shared that she had been diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer. The journalist also announced that she would be undergoing a double mastectomy after learning she has the BRCA 2 gene mutation, which has an increased risk of breast and other cancers in its carriers.
“I am telling this story now because I couldn’t go through months of operations, and start to recover both physically and mentally, without shouting from the rooftops telling everyone to check with their doctors to see if genetic testing is appropriate,” she wrote in an essay for Today’s website. “By the time I recover from my first surgery, I hope that many of you will know your results and can make proactive decisions with your doctors, families and loved ones.”
Four months after revealing her diagnosis, Martin completed her chemotherapy treatment. She documented the moment by sharing a video on social media of her ringing a bell in the hospital.
In October 2024, Martin opened up about how her cancer battle took a toll on her mentally.
“I hold two emotions that don’t normally go together simultaneously,” Martin exclusively told Us Weekly. “I’m so grateful to be cancer-free, but on the other hand, I just came out of a year of fog and people look at me and they think I look like myself. To me, I look totally different and my body’s totally different.”
Martin continued, “I’ve spent the last year just trying to save my life. And now, I’m dealing with the mental trauma of it all. And I think a lot of survivors will tell you, it’s never over. It’s not like, ‘When are you done?’ or ‘Is it over?’ It’s never over. This is a fight I will fight my entire life. I think about chemotherapy every single day.”
Amid her cancer battle, Martin also split from husband Erik Brooks, who filed for divorce in July 2024.
“I had a beautiful love affair, but like some stories, unfortunately, have beginning, middle, and end,” she said of her divorce in an October 2024 episode of the “Making Space with Hoda Kotb” podcast. “And we both put the period on it this time. So, if everything were great, we would be married. So obviously there were issues.”
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