HEALTHAl Roker Talks 'Today' Show Return Following Prostate Cancer Surgery: 'I Feel Good'
Nov. 17 2020, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
He’s back! Al Roker revealed when he will be back on the Today show on Tuesday, November 17 — five days after the weatherman underwent prostate cancer surgery.
"It was this great relief," the 66-year-old said. "For a first start, this is terrific news. I’m going to be up for — and a lot of people who live with cancer — lifelong testing to make sure this doesn’t come back."
The television personality’s surgery took five hours and was performed by Dr. Vincent Landone at New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "The prognosis at this point in time, based on how the surgery went and based on his pathology report, everything looks very favorable," the doctor noted. "We would say that Al has no evidence of any cancer, but we’ll continue to monitor him for several years."
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Following the operation, Roker went for a five-mile walk in the park and seems to be back to his old self. "I feel good," he said. "The technology has gotten so good — they did it with a robot — that I felt so much better after the surgery than I did with any of my joint replacements."
He added, "I didn’t feel like I had major surgery, but I’ve got this swelling around my stomach, so clothes don’t fit quite right now. I’m very vain, so right now I feel like the Michelin Man."
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Roker plans to come back to work on November 22 and is looking forward to hosting the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. "That’s what everyone’s been asking, is there going to be a Thanksgiving Day Parade?" he asked. "We’re telling them yes, but it will be different. But it’s happening."
On November 12, Roker shared an update on his progress to his followers via Instagram. "A big shoutout to everyone at the #josierobertsonsurgerycenter and so appreciate all the thoughts and wishes from our viewers and the wonderful care packages from my co-workers," he added. "Hope to see you all soon."
Roker recently announced he was diagnosed with prostate cancer on November 6. "It’s a good news–bad news kind of thing," he 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."
Fortunately, Roker is on the mend. We can't wait to see him return to the small screen soon!
