Joan Lunden Battles Cancer, but Leaves the Wig at Home
Three months since Joan Lunden revealed that she's battling "aggressive" breast cancer, the former Good Morning America host is anything but defeated. In fact, the 64-year-old star looked bold and beautiful during a recent photo shoot — which she opted to do wig-free.
Since first going public with her battle while talking with cancer survivor Robin Roberts, Lunden's fight has been defined by her willingness to share it. "I was handed an opportunity to learn everything that I can about this and try to help others," the mother of seven explained to People.
Not surprisingly, it was Roberts who gave Lunden some valuable food-for-thought early on. "Robin told me waiting for your hair to fall out is excruciating. So I didn't want to wait," she revealed. "You know it's going to happen one of these days and you are wondering how and when, so I just owned it."
She "owned it" by taking matters into her own hands, and, only one week after completing her first chemo treatment, the GMA alum voluntarily shed her blond locks. But that doesn't mean she wasn't affected by the change in her looks.
"I'm almost reluctant to say it because it sounds superficial," Lunden shared. "But when you lose your hair, it just affects the way that you look at yourself in the mirror. You feel less feminine, pretty or desirable, and it's not an easy thing to go through."
Ultimately, however, the decision to pose wig-free came down to a matter of priorities. "I had to make this big decision about whether or not to do the cover with no hair. It certainly isn't the comfortable way to go, but I decided I was going to try and help others and show women that this isn't the end of the world," she revealed. "You can go on – and that was hugely empowering."
Speaking of being empowered, even though she underwent surgery yesterday to remove a tumor, Lunden called in to the Today show this morning to shed a bit more light on her decision to go for it.
"It was such a tough decision. As a parent, I worried how my kids would think," she told Matt Lauer and the rest of the hosts. Still, however, there was a consideration more important than that. "I knew I could be a voice for a quarter of a million women who are diagnosed every year with breast cancer, and I wanted to show that your health is more important than your hair," she said.
Her fight continues, and she will act as a special correspondent for the Today show next week when the morning program kicks off its Breast Cancer Awareness month coverage.
"Your hair grows back after you stop chemo," Lunden reflected on-air before adding, "And then you have your life."
