The More I Know...
Posted: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 1:30 PM by Jaclyn Levin
(From Eric Hill, TODAY Production Associate)
I came to NBC and TODAY as a child of television and trivia. It started with
such useful facts as the name of the dog on “Petticoat Junction” (it’s “Dog”, really!).
That curiosity expanded to current events, politics and issues that touch our daily lives.
This show brings an incredible array of stories and information on a vast number of topics on a daily basis. While working at our various posts during air it is sometimes difficult to pick up on all the information our guests have to offer. I have taken the opportunity after the show to read some of the research and notes prepared for individual segments. In doing so I have picked up nuggets of information that have expanded my knowledge, ever so slightly, in a variety of subjects. The practical use of this was never more important to me than on a day last September.
I received an email from my very dear friend Kim from Western Pennsylvania, my hometown area. She was informing me that she had just been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. A long and emotional phone call soon followed. We talked of our long and enduring friendship, her son and her initial reaction to such devastating news.
Then the conversation turned to what was happening to her and how to fight this. As I listened I realized she was speaking a language I was not familiar with and that if I was going to be able to properly support her and be active in this fight she was about to wage I would need to get up to speed and acclimate myself to this disease and treatment options quickly. It wasn’t long after this that TODAY did segments to coincide with Breast Cancer awareness month, and not one or two obligatory pieces, but stories of inspiration and useful and timely information throughout the month. I am not saying this to promote my own workplace; I was approaching this as a viewer. I was hungry, maybe even desperate for knowledge on this topic and how it could help me understand, in some small way, what my friend was facing. At the very least I could have some ability to converse with her in a vocabulary that no one wishes to be fluent in, the language of a cancer patient.
This story is still ongoing, I have been to chemo treatments with Kim, was there for her double-mastectomy and now her on-going radiation treatments. While the future is uncertain, the information the show imparted to our viewers, myself included, gave me a clue as to what was coming and a chance to be able to listen and slightly understand what I was hearing. Hopefully this has enabled me to be a better friend when Kim needed it the most.
