Sara Gore, 50, revealed she fell into a deep depression following her breast cancer diagnosis and double mastectomy.
The NBC host, known for “New York Live,” spoke in an interview published Friday about the emotional toll of her health battle. Gore received her diagnosis in March and underwent a double mastectomy in late April, a procedure she called a “godsend” because it allowed doctors to confirm the cancer had not spread.
“I hit a low and started getting really depressed. I was in so much pain, and I think I started having a little bit of a pity party, and I was stuck in my own rut,” she told the outlet.
Gore’s mother and sister have both had breast cancer, and she had been undergoing routine mammograms every six months. Even with that preparation, the news stunned her.
“Even though I had been prepared for it, so to speak, I was not prepared for it at all,” she said. “My heart kind of dropped.”
She recalled that “it’s like this thing kind of hits you in the face.”
The period before surgery proved especially difficult as Gore continued her hosting duties while keeping her diagnosis private. She described the challenge of maintaining her on-air presence during that time.
“No one knew yet, and I was doing the show every day. And let me tell you, it is so hard to pretend that you’re in a good space when you’ve got all this stuff going on. It was very emotional,” she explained.
The physical recovery brought its own struggles, including severe nerve pain and limited range of motion in her right arm. Gore noted that “after the surgery, the emotion goes away for a little while, and you are all in the physical.”
She credited her “supportive” friends and family for helping her through, admitting that “you can’t do any of this stuff alone.”
Gore completed breast reconstruction surgery in September and said she is now done with “the major surgeries.” She is cancer-free.
“I do believe that there is a gift in this,” she shared. “It’s just an emotional journey, and it makes you feel very vulnerable and very raw.”
That vulnerability has translated into motivation. Gore said she feels driven to help others, particularly after a heartbreaking conversation with her 9-year-old daughter, Fiona Rose.
“She said, ‘Does that mean I’m going to get breast cancer?’ And that just broke my heart. So that’s why I’m like, we can’t fail the girls,” Gore said.
She cited the American Cancer Society estimate that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
“One in eight? That’s not a stat. That’s somebody that you know. So it’s so important to keep continuing to raise awareness and get everybody all the information. We need to make sure that breast cancer is impossible to ignore. You have to stay on it.”
Gore first revealed her diagnosis on air during “New York Live” in April. She announced in late April that she would be taking a leave of absence from both “New York Live” and “Open House,” telling viewers at the time, “If I didn’t say that I was a little bit scared, I’d be lying.” She later shared that she was cancer-free in a July Instagram post, thanking her followers for “every thoughtful gesture that came [her] way.”
Gore said she is “full of gratitude” following her reconstruction and remains motivated to use her experience to support others facing similar battles.