ROBIN ROBERTS RETURNS

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(© Michael Appleton for The New York Times)

I got up early this morning to watch Robin Roberts' return to Good Morning America following her five-and-a-half-month hiatus.

For those not in the know, Robin was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and underwent lumpectomy and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, in June of 2013, Robin announced she developed Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) as a result of chemo. Treatment for Robin's MDS included more chemo — and a bone marrow transplant. But first, she needed to find a donor. She was fortunate to find a perfect match in her sister, who agreed to donate her healthy bone marrow to Robin.

(© Be the Match Registry®)

I want to stop the story here for a moment. Not all MDS patients require (or are candidates for) a bone marrow transplant. However, for those that do, finding a "perfect match" is crucial. Robin's public transparency about her latest health crisis shed a flood light on the need for bone marrow donors. (To learn how you can be a donor,  click on the National Marrow Donor Program's Be the Match Registry® here. And it's not always a family member who provides a match; oftentimes it is a complete stranger.)

OK, back to the story. Robin is a famous news anchor with access to the world's best healthcare. She has had the support and well-wishes of tens of thousands (perhaps even millions) of complete strangers. That is powerful. And that got me thinking: What about the millions of people who go through their cancer experience with relatively little or no emotional support from family or friends, let alone complete strangers? I'd love to see the "famous folks" throw a little love and light their way. 

SO ROBIN, IF YOU'RE LISTENING: As you bathe in the warmth and generosity of the many, many supporters who have wished you well and held you up in thought and prayer, please use this opportunity to ask these same folks for one more favor: to look in their own backyards. Remind everyone that there's a good chance that someone in their circle of family or friends is going through their own cancer hell (even if it looks from the outside like they are handling it well). Please, ask the masses to shower the same healing intentions they've been sending your way on someone they know personally. Remind us all of the healing power of a call, a text, a card, an email. Encourage us to share the love freely within our own family trees. Compassion is a lot like butter — a little goes a long way. And it is only through sharing that we realize we are not alone, we are not weird in how we feel, and we deserve to be heard. And that's the kind of support we all need. If we can do it for a stranger, we can do it for someone we know and love. Right? 

Continued strength to Robin, and to all of you out there who are dealing with the impossible. To build a wall of strength, we've gotta start right here at home.