GULF COAST -- The Gulf Coast has responded with an outpouring of support to the annnouncement that ABC news anchor Robin Roberts has a life-threatening blood disorder known as MDS, myelodysplastic syndrome.
MDS is a blood and bone marrow disease once known as pre-leukemia.
According to ehow.com, Myelodysplastic Syndromes are a family of diseases that occur in patients whose stem cells don't mature into blood cells or function properly. Some forms of MDS are extremely mild and easy to manage, while others develop into leukemia, which can be life-threatening.
Roberts, co-anchor of "Good Morning America, made the announcement Monday, June 11, on the show among colleagues George Stephanopoulos, Josh Elliot, Lara Spencer and Sam Champion. ABC World News anchor Diane Sawyer, with whom Roberts made her breast cancer announcement five years ago, was on the GMA set with Roberts' older sister, Sally Ann Roberts, and Dr. Richard Besser.
"My doctors tell me I'm going to beat this, and I know it's true," said Roberts, who turned 51 Nov. 23.
Dr. Richard Besser with GMA said the blood disorder developed as a result of chemotherapy treatments Roberts received for breast cancer in 2007 .
Roberts is expected to have a bone marrow transplant later this summer or fall, and will take several months to recover. Her older sister, Sally Ann Roberts, an anchor for WWL-TV in New Orleans, is perfect donor match, said Robin Roberts, who said she would begin pre-treatment on Monday for the transplant.
Robin Roberts is the youngest of the four children of Lawrence and Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, who moved to Biloxi when he was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base. Lawrence Roberts, a Tuskegee airman, died in 2004. Lucimarian Roberts and Robin Roberts recently released a book, "My Story, My Song."
