Joan Lunden Reflects on 2014 PEOPLE Cover Detailing Breast Cancer Journey: ‘Changed the Trajectory of My Career’ (Exclusive)

Madison E. GoldbergThu, June 25, 2026 at 5:39 PM UTC

0

Left: Joan Lunden, 2025; Right:Joan Lunden on the cover of PEOPLE in 2014Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty -

Joan Lunden said her 2014 PEOPLE cover "changed the trajectory of my career and life"

She opened up to PEOPLE exclusively about the emotional cover shoot and how she was able to connect with female viewers

Lunden later advocated for further mammogram transparency regarding breast density

Joan Lunden is sharing further insight on the impact of her 2014 PEOPLE cover.

Lunden, 75, sat down with PEOPLE exclusively ahead of greeting fans at a book signing held at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif., on June 18. Her 11th book, Joan: Life Beyond the Script, was published in March. In the book, she recounts her decision to return to Good Morning America more than 15 years after her departure to announce her breast cancer diagnosis live on air.

After Lunden began undergoing chemotherapy treatments, she also graced the cover of PEOPLE—where she posed without her hair in a landmark moment for women living with breast cancer.

"I will always, always, always take time for PEOPLE Magazine," Lunden told PEOPLE exclusively. "Because PEOPLE Magazine has really been good to me over the years."

She recalled her hesitancy about her cancer journey becoming a cover story, citing a fear that readers would feel she was "exploiting my illness." The former Good Morning America host eventually agreed to the cover shoot at her home. Lunden said that the photographer shot several versions of the cover—one in which she wore a wig, one in which she wore a Hermès scarf, and one in which she wore nothing to conceal her chemotherapy-induced hair loss.

She then asked the photographers to clear the room for her to be photographed without the scarf or the wig.

"I just knew that I had to dig down [within], for that photograph, and find that ‘I'm going to beat this' kind of spirit," Lunden said of the emotional moment.

After reviewing the photos with the PEOPLE team, she realized that the shot featuring her bald head "just [had] to be the shot."

Lunden then recalled a heartwarming interaction she had with a woman who had also been diagnosed with cancer and was touched to see a friendly face from GMA on a similar path.

"She said to me, ‘When I got diagnosed with cancer, the first thing I thought of was the cover of PEOPLE Magazine,' " Lunden said. "She said it wasn't so much the picture, it was the sparkle in your eye that said ‘I am going to beat this. And that gave me hope, that gave me that same [hope], it was like a transference, and I said, I'm gonna beat it too Joan.' I was like oh my God, that just made it worth it."

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Lunden admitted that she initially thought she would "put a baseball cap and sunglasses on" and "slink" into treatment, before recognizing the gravity of the diagnosis.

"Then I found out that I was triple negative and that it was going to be a year of chemo," Lunden said. "And that I was going to lose my hair. And I knew I was going to have to go public, being in my position."

Advertisement

She then phoned a friend who had been through the same scenario for advice—fellow broadcast journalist and GMA host Robin Roberts.

"She said ‘You gotta get in front of it,' " Lunden said of Roberts' advice. Roberts then discreetly got Lunden a guest spot on the show's schedule.

Joan Lunden's 11th book 'Life Beyond the Script'Credit: amazon

"And she was right, because I walked onto that set, and when you are diagnosed with cancer, even getting on the phone and calling a friend, it's hard to say, 'I'm calling you to tell you that I have cancer.' It's kind of hard to get it out," Lunden said with a sigh.

"And to sit there, and to say that to millions of people who I've been connected to for decades, I mean it was so hard," Lunden said of the viewers she woke up with every day during her time as co-host from 1980 to 1997. "And then once that happened, and PEOPLE Magazine then came out, I mean it literally changed the trajectory of my career and life."

She cited her late father, Dr. Erle Blunden, who was a cancer surgeon, as her inspiration to advocate for further research and awareness surrounding breast cancer. This inspiration helped her reframe her breast cancer treatment journey.

"This is your chance," Lunden said of her advocacy. "You just got a gift dropped in your lap. And in that moment I transformed from a patient, a victim, into an advocate."

Joan Lunden on 'Good Morning America' in 1996Credit: Ida Mae Astute/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty

On September 15, 2016, Lunden attended the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) committee meeting of the National Mammography Quality Assurance Advisory Committee, and shared "personal testimony about why it is so important that women in every state be given the potentially lifesaving information from mammograms about their breast density," according to a video shared to her YouTube channel.

"I'm so glad because of that advocacy, and the success that we had, we finally got that pass, and it taught me what grassroots campaigns could do," Lunden said.

A federal mandate passed in 2025 that "requires that all women undergoing mammography in the U.S. be informed about their breast density—a factor that affects both cancer detection and risk," according to UCLA Health.

"I wasn't really going in there as Joan Lunden from ABC," Lunden continued. "I was walking in with a bunch of other women, trying to get them to write legislation that would protect women."

Lunden added that her role in advocating for the federal mandate "changed my whole idea of what a person could get involved in and actually create change."

Joan: Life Beyond the Script is available now, wherever books are sold.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”