Atlanta news anchor Jovita Moore has revealed that she has an aggressive form of brain cancer months after she tearfully revealed doctors found tumors in her brain.
WSB-TV shared on Thursday that the veteran anchor, who has been with the station since 1998, asked them to relay that she was diagnosed with glioblastoma. It is an aggressive, malignant form of cancer that can affect the brain or spine.
The doctors have told Moore, 53, that there is no cure and treatments can only be used to slow it down. She is currently being treated with radiation and chemotherapy at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta under the care of her surgeon, Dr. Edjah Nduom.
Moore wanted to express her appreciation for the outpouring of support from viewers and the community.
“Our girl is strong. Our girl is a fighter and she’s doing great every day,”said WSB-TV Community and Public Affairs Director Condace Pressley, who has known Moore for two decades.
Pressley told her co-host, Channel 2′s Justin Farmer, that Moore was holding up as well as could be expected. She still maintained her positive outlook.
“We laugh and you know sometimes we talk about stuff and we may cry a little bit, but at the end of the day, she is a fighter, and she is surrounded by love and prayers and positivity,” Pressley said. “She’s a very strong woman and is raising three very strong kids who are, as we all are, right there with her.”
Moore underwent an MRI in April after feeling symptoms such as disorientation. Doctors discovered two small masses on her brain and she underwent surgery which required 10 weeks of recovery.
“I was really concerned about why all of a sudden I was forgetful, disoriented and just not feeling myself. Feeling like I was in a fog and really wanting to get out of that fog,” Moore said at the time.
She added that her symptoms were more than just not feeling well.
“It’s significant,” she addressed the audience. “It’s gonna be a lot. Two little tumors kind of near each other, and they got to go. We had to start then having a conversation about what that was and what that meant.”
Moore explained that she and doctors sought out a course of action after the discovery of the masses. Dr. Nduom, who removed the tumors in April, was given permission by Moore to discuss her condition.
“As a neurosurgeon, we like to pride ourselves with our skills and what we can do with our hands. (Glioblastoma) is not something I can cure with surgery alone. The reason for that is that gliomas, and glioblastoma in particular, they have these tentacles that go beyond the lesions that we can see on a scan and beyond what we can see with our operating microscopes,” Nduom said.
Nduom shared that Moore was “in good spirits, she was with friends and family as always,” when he last saw her at the clinic a few weeks ago.
Nduom encouraged viewers to continue sending their best well-wishes for the anchor.
“All of these things play into patients who do better when they face a disease like this and I got to tell you, Ms. Moore’s got one of the best teams I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Pressley emphasized that point.
“The love, the prayers, the positivity is welcomed. She feels it and we need to keep it coming,” Pressley said.
Moore was met with support from the community, including Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms who tweeted “let us continue to keep @JovitaMoore and her family in our prayers and as one body, join in claiming healing and restoration.
Well wishes can be sent online to the station in addition to receiving updates on her condition.
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