Al Roker is grateful to have Deborah Roberts — his wife of more than 25 years — and his family.
Roker and Roberts graced one of People magazine’s three Valentine’s Day covers for the publication’s first-ever “Love” issue. Roker, 66, revealed in November that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
“He said that was the bad news,” Roker was informed by his doctor. “He said that the good news is that it looks like we’d caught it early.” Roberts chimes in, “When he said, ‘It’s cancer,’… I just lost it.”
My heart just sank to my toes because it never even occurred to me that there was anything serious,” she adds.
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Our friend and colleague @AlRoker reveals that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. pic.twitter.com/hnAUX4xfX3
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 6, 2020
The longtime lovebirds got on a Zoom call with their children to share the worrying news.
“There were tears but they rallied around,” Roker says.
Roberts never missed one of Roker’s appointments with doctors.
“I just remember just looking at him and… just seeing us in our life and just seeing everything sort of pulsating through you as you were sitting there taking all of this,” Roberts shares. “It was very emotional for me. What if he is not going to be here with me much longer? You really let your mind go there, you cherish and you clutch and you hold on.”
Roker does not dismiss Roberts’ support.
“When somebody you love happens also to be your best advocate, that’s just a bonus,” he says. “So that helps you a lot to get through. That can make all the difference.”
The “TODAY” correspondent had surgery on Nov. 9. By January, his prostate-specific antigen levels had gone from 7 down to .05.
“That’s considered undetectable,” he says. “Every six months I’ll get blood work and that’ll be for the next five years.” He concluded by celebrating his wife: “She’s been a real rock.”
