The journalist recalls a meaningful exchange she shared with the actress on the latest episode of her podcast, 'Amy & T.J.'
Amy Robach is opening up about her connection with Shannen Doherty. The journalist and the actress have both battled breast cancer, with the latter currently fighting stage 4 cancer that has spread to her brain and her bones.
On Tuesday's episode of her podcast, Amy & T.J., which she co-hosts with boyfriend T.J. Holmes, Robach opened up about her own experience with the deadly disease and encourages adult women of all ages to pursue precautionary mammograms regardless of their family history. The 50-year-old former Good Morning America host was previously shocked to be diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes after undergoing a routine mammogram live on the air for a 2013 segment on the morning show.
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and went into remission two years later after undergoing chemotherapy. In 2020, Doherty shared that her breast cancer had returned and was at stage four in an interview with Robach on GMA. Over the course of the last year, Doherty has said that the cancer had spread to her brain and to her bones.
Robach now recalls that when she and Doherty met, the Beverly Hills, 90210 actress offered her a thought-provoking Peanuts comic.
"She said to me, after she was newly diagnosed, that figuring out the mental part of this is the hardest part," Robach shared on her and Holmes' podcast. "She referred me to, of all things, a Snoopy, Charlie Brown cartoon that she said she reads daily to get her through the day, to get her going, to keep her mood and her mind in the right place. And I was like, 'A Charlie Brown cartoon?'"
The gesture clearly stuck with Robach, as she explained what the piece entailed.
"It's really a beautiful thing," she said. "Charlie Brown says to Snoopy, 'We only live once, Snoopy' Kind of like, YOLO. Snoopy says to Charlie Brown, 'Wrong. We only die once. We live every day.'"
The story came amid a conversation about cancer with Robach's close personal friend, Morgan Mitchell. Robach and Holmes also acknowledged the recent announcements from Baywatch alum Nicole Eggert and CNN anchor Sarah Sidner about their own breast cancer diagnoses.
"What an impassioned speech," Robach marveled of Sidner. "Just a powerful on-air announcement and reminder about taking initiative and taking control of your own health."
Since debuting their podcast in December, Robach and Holmes have set their sights on sharing meaningful stories with their listeners. A press release announcing the project previously promised that the pair will "explore meaningful conversations about current events, pop culture, and everything in between" on their show. "Nothing is off limits."
While promoting the new project, Robach recently made her "really late" debut on TikTok with a message to the social media community.
"I'm very excited to be here," she says in the video, acknowledging that some people may know her from her career in television while others may only be aware of the tabloid coverage from the fallout surrounding her secret romance with Holmes and their GMA ouster.
"I'm pretty sure most of you don't know who I am," she adds with a chuckle. "So I'll give you the rundown."
Robach introduces herself as a 50-year-old "proud mom" of two daughters.
"I have chosen love in my life and I'm very excited about that path," she continues. "I'm living my truth. There has been a price to pay, but I'm excited about the future and I love trying new things. So I'm trying TikTok."
Robach then teases her podcast and shares some of her personal passions.
"I'm passionate about running and my health," she begins. "I'm a breast cancer survivor. I'm passionate about all of us supporting the women and men in our lives and funding research to find a cure, so I'm excited to talk about who I am, how I live and what I stand for, and hopefully take back my narrative. If it's something that you all think you know, I hope that I can show you what the real me and who the real me is."
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