Hoda Kotb does not let ‘breast cancer' define her

Hoda Kotb admits breast cancer has changed her for the better.

The TV presenter, who was diagnosed with the cancer 18 years ago, admits it was hard to come to terms to her health condition.

Speaking about life after mastectomy, Kotb told PEOPLE: “I mean, there are people who are going to get breast cancer. I didn't think I was one.”

She admits: “I mean, I ate apples and ran in Central Park. I was like me? When they called me, they were like, ‘Oh, it's you.’ I go, ‘It can't be me. Why would it be me?’ I've never done any of the things that would lead to this diagnosis, but yet it came.” 

“When it comes to breast cancer, it's sort of like, get it early, get it out, and try not to be defined by it,” she tells PEOPLE.

“It can shape you, but if it defines you, then you will spend your life feeling a certain way. So it's like understanding this is part of me, but not all of me. It's going to change me and I'll be different now.” 

“But what you'll find is you're braver, you're more resilient,” she adds.