The "Today" show's lifestyle contributor Jill Martin revealed Monday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer after learning that her father was a BRCA gene mutation carrier.
In an emotional appearance on NBC's morning show, and in an accompanying essay published on the "Today" show website, Martin shared that she was diagnosed on June 26 after a slew of mammograms, tests and screenings. The 47-year-old was considered at high risk for breast cancer because her grandmother died from the disease — the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States — and her mother had a double mastectomy in her late 40s before her breast cancer turned invasive.
Her mother, however, tested negative for the BRCA 1 and 2 gene mutations 20 years ago, erroneously leading Martin to believe that she was not at as high a risk for the disease.
