Amy Robach goes to Sochi winter olympic games while battling breast cancer
By Sara Nathan
PUBLISHED: 13:18 EST, 7 February 2014 | UPDATED: 15:09 EST, 7 February 2014
Brave ABC news correspondent Amy Robach is helming Good Morning America's Winter Olympics coverage while battling breast cancer - after being told by her doctor it will help her recovery.
The star, who was only diagnosed after having a routine mammogram live on GMA in October, had her third round of chemotherapy before departing for Sochi in Russia.
And she will have her fourth round of the grueling treatment the day after she gets back home to New York in three weeks time, sources tell MailOnline.
Amy celebrated her 41st birthday yesterday and the source added: 'Amy's oncologist believes it was mentally good for Amy to go Sochi, she's equipped with all the medications she might need as a precaution.'
And the married mom-of-two looks to be having a whale of a time as she gave her 40,000 followers a glimpse at her trip to Russia, which involved travelling via France and Germany.
She revealed her voyage had taken her through 'five cities, four airports, travelling 6,426 miles over 30 hours', adding: 'I even celebrated my birthday during my layover in Frankfurt. My loving family back home singing to me over the phone.'
Amy, who has two daughters Ava McIntosh and Annie McIntosh with her first husband, is married to actor Andrew Shue.
And this week, she announced she is writing a memoir about her cancer battle to be published by Ballantine Bantam Dell.
Since her diagnosis, she has undergone a double mastectomy and was seen tearfully unveiling a new, short haircut on GMA last month.
The Blonde visited the Rossano Ferretti hair spa in New York and said the stylists made every effort to make her feel comfortable.
'I was there for five hours, and they were so great to make sure I felt OK. They gave me a private room because it is emotional when you cut your hair.'
Commenting on her transformation, GMA host George Stephanopoulos, said: 'You know how fantastic you look, right?'
And breast cancer survivor Robin Roberts added: 'There are so many women who will not have treatment because they don't want to lose their hair.
'But you are taking control... and it's a powerful message that you're sending to so many.'
While Ms Robach says she's been able to deal with the physical impact of having a double mastectomy and chemotherapy treatment, it has been emotionally draining.
'I have a lot of anxiety and you have moments when you get mad [and] just start crying in the middle of the grocery store.'
'Then you have moments when you think "today is a beautiful day and I'm alive and I'm so happy I have people who I love around me."'
'You have moments when you get mad and start crying in the grocery store. Then you have moments when you think "today is beautiful, I'm alive"
Ms Robach first discovered she had a malignant tumor in her right breast after an on-air mammogram.
When she had a double mastectomy in November doctors realized there was also a second tumor in the same breast and some abnormal cells in the left breast.
Due to the location and size of the masses, Ms Robach's surgeons were able to save her nipples and insert expanders that are placed where the removed breasts once were.
However, after the procedure it became clear that the disease had spread to Ms Robach's sentinel lymph nodes, meaning that the mastectomy was far from the final step and chemotherapy would be needed.
She opted for the most aggressive form of treatment given her age and the fact that she has two young daughters and three stepsons.
She has had two rounds of chemotherapy to date and still has six more to go.
'I want all the women who have gone through breast cancer that you're not alone and that you too can be brave'
Ever since her diagnosis on October 30, Ms Robach has said how she was hesitant to get the test done because she had no family history of the disease and there are certain medical authorities that suggest women first have the test when they are 50-years-old.
The TV personality has previously said that she had had the prescription to have a mammogram for a year before she actually went in for the exam.
'Forty for me was the right time but 39 probably would have been better,' she said, adding that if she waited much longer 'that could have meant the difference between life and death.'
Ms Robach said that returning to work in December was a 'tremendous' help and served as a welcome distraction to what was going on.
Her doctor told her she has a small chance of keeping some of her hair because she is young and has good growth, but what remains might be 'thin, dry and brittle.'
Before publicly getting her blonde locks chopped off this week, Ms Robach said: 'We know in our line of work that appearance is important - it's important to anybody and everybody really - and I decided I was going to take control of one thing away from the cancer.
'I'm sharing this because I want all the women who have gone through it or going through it now and who will be going through it, to know two things, that you're not alone and that you too can be brave.'