Hoda Kotb Reveals the Unexpected Visitor Who Changed How She Sees Her Body After Cancer. .QN

Hoda Kotb recently opened up about one of the most intimate and transformative moments in her journey through breast cancer. She recalled a powerful encounter with a woman named Harriet, who had undergone a mastectomy before doctors had performed any kind of reconstruction. “I looked at her like she was crazy,” Hoda said. “I thought, ‘Does she really think I’m going to show her my boob? No way, not happening.’ But before I knew it, Harriet had lifted up her shirt and shown me her chest.”

The moment was both shocking and oddly comforting. Harriet, pointing to her own chest, asked Hoda, “‘Not so bad, right?’” She then lowered her shirt and waited. Hoda took a deep breath, counted down three, two, one, and then lifted her own shirt. Harriet looked at her, shrugged, and said simply, “‘Not so bad.’” This exchange, Hoda explained, was more than just a physical act; it was about breaking through shame and fear. “Yes, it was scary! It was terrifying,” she admitted. “But it was such a big moment. It was more than just someone seeing me naked—it was someone helping me get rid of the shame.”

Hoda’s own battle with breast cancer began in 2007, when she was diagnosed and decided to undergo a mastectomy rather than endure rounds of chemotherapy. Even then, uncertainty clouded her decisions. She remembered consulting three other specialists. One insisted she needed chemo. Another argued it was unnecessary. And the third warned that either choice could be fatal. “One person said, ‘You’ll be dead if you don’t do it.’ I couldn’t believe it,” Hoda recalled. “I have chills just thinking about it.”

Ultimately, Hoda chose not to undergo chemotherapy, as her cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes. “The decision was clear,” she said. “I did not do chemotherapy, and it was right for me.” The moment after surgery was transformative, too. “I literally woke up from my bed, like in a start, thinking, ‘You can’t scare me. I was like, ‘What am I afraid of now?’”

Her personal strength and courage during this period of her life became a turning point. At the time, Hoda was working at Dateline, but this experience emboldened her to pursue a new opportunity at Today, where she became a beloved morning show anchor. She has since left the long-running show earlier this year but has been cancer-free since 2007.

Reflecting on that intimate exchange with Harriet, Hoda emphasized the profound emotional significance: it was about reclaiming agency, embracing vulnerability, and finding solidarity with someone who had walked a similar path. That single, brave act of showing herself, and witnessing Harriet do the same, allowed Hoda to confront her insecurities head-on, marking a moment of healing that went far beyond the operating room.

In sharing her story, Hoda reminds others facing breast cancer that moments of courage, even in vulnerability, can redefine how they see themselves and their bodies—and that connection and empathy can be as powerful as any treatment.