Photos: Famous Breast Cancer Survivors
These courageous individuals battled breast cancer | and won. See their stories.
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Robin Roberts - After chemotherapy treatments, Robin Roberts didn’t want her wig to distract viewers from the news on “Good Morning America.” But she soon realized that she could share an implicit strength with viewers and other survivors by not wearing it; so she took it off on air. "I am not my hair," Roberts said. "I am the soul that lies within and that's it -- no more wig. That's it."
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Ruby Dee - Ruby Dee is more than an Emmy and Grammy Award-winning actress; she’s a renaissance woman and legend. She used her celebrity to fight civil injustices during the Civil Rights Movement alongside heroes like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Dee used that same tenacity to fight cancer and is currently a 30-plus-year survivor of the disease.
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Hoda Kotb - Co-host of the fourth hour of NBC’s “Today,” Hoda Kotb bravely allowed the show’s cameras to document her ordeal with breast cancer, to not only inform people about the disease but to strengthen those who were suffering from it as well. In 2007, Kotb underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.
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Rene Syler - Rene Syler, journalist and former co-host of CBSs’ “The Early Show,” was a strong proponent of breast cancer even before she was diagnosed with the disease. Syler won the 2004 Gracie Allen Award for Individual Achievement in the National Best Anchor category for her breast cancer series. In 2006, she underwent a successful bilateral prophylactic mastectomy.
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Richard Roundtree - Actor Richard Roundtree reminds us all that breast cancer isn’t a disease that only affects women. When Roundtree was diagnosed in 1993, his reaction was, “I couldn't possibly have breast cancer. Men don't get this.” After going into remission, Roundtree became an advocate for breast cancer awareness and works closely with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
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