Monday, June 11, was the day I would share the announcement of my illness with GMA viewers. That was because it was also the day I was to begin pre-treatment for my transplant. I kept going over in my head what I planned to say, and I couldn’t stop wondering how it would be received. The next morning, I huddled with Diane and Rich Besser in the loading dock before I returned to the studio to tell the world that I was once again facing a life-threatening illness. As I said earlier, for the longest time, the three of us considered ourselves a stealth team, contacting in secret doctors and hospitals across the country, looking for the best possible care. Anne Sweeney, the president of Disney/ABC Television Group, made the trip from Los Angeles to join us in the studio that morning. She and Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger had already assured me several times that I would have whatever I needed to fight this. Every time I speak with Bob, I remember when Mom had met him at a wedding in the 1980s.
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