Jill Martin seemed to be living a charmed life. In 2023, the Today show fashion correspondent was thriving—newly married, surrounded by loved ones, and at the peak of her career. “I was the person you look at and say, ‘Wow!’” she tells PEOPLE. “I really had it down.”
Then, everything changed. Despite clear mammogram and sonogram results just months earlier, genetic testing revealed Martin carried the BRCA2 mutation—inherited from her father’s side. The diagnosis came with a staggering 60–90% lifetime risk of breast cancer. “You think it’s not you—until it’s you,” says Martin, whose brother and father also carry the gene.
Worse news followed. A pre-op MRI ahead of her planned double mastectomy detected an aggressive, one-to-two-inch tumor in her left breast. “If we hadn’t caught it within the year, it would have been incurable,” says Martin, 48, who hesitated to break the news to her parents: “I could not make that call.”
What followed was a grueling year of treatment: a double mastectomy, four months of chemotherapy (“physical and mental torture”), radiation, reconstructive surgery, and preventive removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes. Diagnosed with stage 2b breast cancer, Martin faced the fight head-on.
Now cancer-free, she’s transformed her ordeal into a mission. “It totally changed my life in powerful—and beautiful—ways,” she says. Leveraging her Today platform, she’s become a vocal advocate for genetic testing and early detection, sharing her story with viewers who know her from “Steals and Deals” and “Ambush Makeover.”
“I’m shouting from rooftops: If cancer runs in your family, get tested,” says Martin, whose openness has resonated deeply. “If the ‘nice blonde girl’ who did everything right still got cancer, maybe it’s a wake-up call.”
For Martin, the experience has been unexpectedly empowering. “I could’ve pulled the covers over my head,” she reflects. Instead, she chose resilience—and now wears her battle “as a badge of honor.” Her new purpose? “Helping others gives me peace. I’m more myself than ever.”
