![[Video] Tom Brokaw Addresses His Cancer Diagnosis With David Letterman](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tom_brokaw_david_letterman_a_l.jpg?w=2000&h=1126&crop=1)
Tom Brokaw David Letterman - H 2014
CBSTom Brokaw announced last month that he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow, and on Thursday he talked about his health issues in a rare interview with David Letterman.
The 74-year-old NBC news correspondent told the Late Show host that he is optimistic about his treatment. “As you know, I was keeping it as private as I possibly could, which I intend to continue doing,” said Brokaw, who was diagnosed last August.
“I’m very pleased with the progress, and that’s about as far as I want to go. There are a lot of other people out there … going through what I’m going through, and they don’t have the advantages I do.
STORY: NBC’s Tom Brokaw Diagnosed with Cancer
“I’m so conscious of that every day, because it involves the whole family and it’s tricky and it becomes a big strain. In our case, we’ve got the resources and access, and so I am much more aware of what other families are going through, and I think we all have to be, as a matter of fact,” he revealed gratefully.
Letterman pointed out that since Brokaw found out about his condition, “you have worked almost as much as you’ve always worked right through it, so I think that’s a good sign in and of itself.”
VIDEO: Angelina Jolie’s ‘Unbroken’ Preview Airs During Olympics
“Well, that’s been therapy for me,” explained the former anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News. “I’m writing, I’ve been working, I’ve been on this broadcast, I’ve done things at NBC, and I want to have my other life.”
Brokaw passed the Nightly News baton to Brian Williams in 2004, at which time Brokaw became a special correspondent for NBC News. He played a significant role in NBC’s coverage of the 2008 presidential election and moderated the second debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. He has continued to work despite his recent health battles.
Last November, he anchored a two-hour NBC documentary on the assassination of JFK. And he has made recent appearances on Today, Nightly News, Meet the Press and MSNBC.
The full interview airs on The Late Show With David Letterman at 11.35 p.m. on Thursday on CBS. Watch a special preview below:
