Hoda Kotb refused to let breast cancer define her.
The 60-year-old star was diagnosed with the disease back in 2007 - undergoing a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery - but didn't want the illness to overwhelm her even though it changed her life.
Speaking to People at the Runway for Recovery event that honours breast cancer survivors, Hoda said: "When it comes to breast cancer, it's sort of like, get it early, get it out, and try not to be defined by it.
"It can shape you, but if it defines you, then you will spend your life feeling a certain way. So it's like understanding this is part of me, but not all of me. It's going to change me and I'll be different now.
"But what you'll find is you're braver, you're more resilient."
The former 'Today' host admits that she was left cursing her luck after being diagnosed as she felt that she lived a healthy lifestyle.
Hoda said: "I mean, there are people who are going to get breast cancer. I didn't think I was one. I mean, I ate apples and ran in Central Park. I was like me?
"When they called me, they were like, 'Oh, it's you'. I go, 'It can't be me. Why would it be me?' I've never done any of the things that would lead to this diagnosis, but yet it came."
The broadcaster left 'Today' after 17 years in January and revealed that she was planning to launch a new wellness business that she is convinced has huge potential.
Hoda shared: "I like things, I do.
"So, I kind of got hooked in the wellness space, like a couple of years ago. I started doing stuff that I thought seemed woo woo and weird, and then all of a sudden as I was doing it. I was like, 'Wait, I feel calmer, I feel better'."
