Al Roker Is Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer, Will Undergo Surgery

Al Roker has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 66-year-old Today show co-host and weatherman revealed the news on Friday's morning show.

Roker noted that doctors discovered the cancer following "a routine check-up in September." He added that he was "not expecting" the diagnosis.

"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."

The longtime morning show staple opened up about his decision to take viewers along with him on his cancer journey, saying, "I decided I wanted to go public with this because one in nine men are going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, but for African American men it's one in seven and it's more deadly."

Roker went on to offer an optimistic outlook to his co-hosts and viewers, saying, "If detected early, this is a really treatable disease."

He reflected on going to work the day after his diagnosis, saying, "I didn't physically feel any different, but I was different because I knew that I've got cancer."

Roker is taking some time off from the Today show to prepare for surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, saying he hoped to be back in two weeks.

"I don't want people thinking 'Oh, poor Al,' because I'm gonna be OK," Roker insisted.

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