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Roberts recovering after successful surgery
The Sun Herald --
Aug 4, 2007 --
Roberts recovering after successful surgery
By KAT BERGERON
kbergeron@sunherald.com
Robin Roberts announced she had breast cancer this morning.
Robin Roberts, Mississippi Coast hometown girl and popular co-anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America," is home recovering from Friday morning's cancer surgery in New York.
"Robin's surgery was very successful today," "GMA" spokeswoman Bridgette Maney wrote in an e-mail statement sent to the Sun Herald and other media. "She has already left the hospital and is home resting. The tests following her surgery take some time to process, so when we have more information we will update you.
"Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Robin at this time."
The family has asked Roberts' friends and the public to respect her need for a private, quiet recovery time.
"I'm blessed with the medical care I am getting," Roberts told the Sun Herald earlier this week, "but I think about what other people are dealing with. I work for a company that says 'Just whatever you need,' and I'm grateful. But that just is not the way it is for everyone. It shouldn't be a privilege I have; it should be everyone's right."
In mid-July before she knew she had cancer, Roberts agreed to be keynote speaker at an Aug. 29 Pink Heart fundraiser at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Roberts, who has set recovery of her hometown community as a personal priority, was already planning to be on the Coast for the Aug. 29 GMA broadcast of the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
The nonprofit Pink Heart Fund was born in the wake of Katrina when JoAn Niceley, a Long Beach hair stylist and cancer survivor, realized that cancer patients who'd already lost much in the storm were having difficulty getting wigs and breast prosthesis.
"We thought she was coming to talk about the book but now it will be about her own cancer and the importance of early detection," said Niceley.
The fundraiser sold out the first day, but after Tuesday's cancer announcement, people from across the nation began calling in hopes of buying tickets. Also on Tuesday, an anonymous Coast man returned his two tickets to Pink Heart for a raffle to raise more money.
Roberts said this week she will still be the Pink Heart keynoter: "I can't very well cancel now, can I?"
The Coast has rallied with support and prayers with news of the health challenges facing Robertrs.
"I know Robin is a very religious person and her faith will help her through this challenge," said David Vincent, news director and station manager at WLOX in Biloxi, the ABC affiliate where Roberts worked before going big-time.
"Robin has talked about her faith on 'Good Morning America' many times. That and the prayers of thousands of people here in South Mississippi and throughout the country will get her through this. She's a strong person and she's going to make it."
Things to know
Pink Heart Fund:
The nonprofit PHF was launched in 2005 to raise money to help pay for wigs and prosthesis for cancer patients. Address: Pink Heart Funds, JoAn Niceley's Hair Studio, 7544 Red Creek Road, Long Beach, 39560; phone, 228-257-9179; Web, pinkheartfunds.com.
Special Robin Roberts luncheon raffle: Although tickets are sold out for the Aug. 29 fund-raiser, an anonymous donor is returning his two tickets to be raffled off, at $25 a piece, from now until Aug. 7, with the drawing Aug. 8. Call 228-257-9179, leave name and phone number on answering machine.
American Cancer Society: Has handouts and information on breast cancer. The Gulf Coast office is at 417 Security Square, Gulfport, and phone 896-8936 or 800-227-2345. Of special note, Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, ACS's national deputy chief medical officer has posted a blog about Robin Roberts at http://www.cancer.org/aspx/blog/
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