Some rough, non-election-related news this morning: Today co-host Al Roker has revealed that he has prostate cancer.
Roker made the announcement on this morning’s broadcast, and said that he will be undergoing surgery to have his prostate removed.
The veteran newsman also noted that he wanted to make his diagnosis public so the people would become aware of the fact that that 1 in 7 African American men, 1 in 9 men overall, will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
“It’s a good news-bad news kind of thing,” Roker said. “Good news is we caught it early. Not great news is that it’s a little aggressive, so I’m going to be taking some time off to take care of this.”
Roker’s surgery will take place next week at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Prostate cancer is an issue Roker has spotlighted for years, whether it was combining with Craig Melvin and the New Jersey Devils for a 2019 public service announcement about prostate health, or getting a prostate exam live on Today show with Matt Lauer back in 2013.
Our friend and colleague @AlRoker reveals that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. pic.twitter.com/hnAUX4xfX3
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 6, 2020