Host Amy Robach diagnosed with breast cancer after 'Good Morning America' on-air mammogram

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TV host diagnosed with breast cancer after on-air mammogram

ABC News correspondent Amy Robach was screened as part of 'GMA's' October Pink initiative

ABC News correspondent Amy Robach says she has breast cancer, a month after she was given a mammogram on the air for a "Good Morning America" story.

"Honestly, I was a little reluctant at first," Robach admitted on "GMA" Monday morning. "I'm 40, I'm the age and I've been putting it off."

Robach got the screening as part of the show's October Pink initiative, aimed at encouraging viewers to get checked, according to People.

She said she was shocked by the news, as she has no family history of the disease. A doctor has since told her that the mammogram saved her life, and she'll have both breasts surgically removed Thursday, she announced.

"It's still hard for me to say the words out loud: 'I have breast cancer,'" Robach said.

Robach was a frequent fill-in on ABC's morning show while Robin Roberts was fighting a serious blood and bone marrow disease.

Roberts held Robach's hand as her "GMA" colleagues wished her well.

"You're going to beat this," they told her.

Robach is married to "Melrose Place" actor Andrew Shue, with whom she has two daughters and three stepsons. Shue appeared alongside her on Monday's telecast.

"Telling my children was the toughest part," Robach said. "But that's when you get strong, because you have to be strong for other people."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.