WFTS Tampa Bay anchor and health reporter Linda Hurtado always knew she was at risk of getting breast cancer. The disease took her mother’s life in 1995, not long after Hurtado became an anchor at the ABC affiliate.
Last night on the 5:30 news, through tears and with the support of her co-anchors around her, Hurtado revealed she’s been diagnosed with the disease. “Over the last 17 years I’ve asked so many of you to share your truth with me. So I can’t just disappear for a while without sharing mine with you.” Hurtado says she will be off the air for up to 5 weeks as she recovers from a double mastectomy.
Hurtado’s message to women: don’t skip your mammogram. She was considering skipping this years, but decided to go. And that’s when doctors found the cancer. In the sadness of the diagnosis, she was happy to report two women in the Action News newsroom have already scheduled theirs.
Read on to see Hurtado’s emotional story, and message…