Hoda Kotb has revealed her devastation after doctors told her that cancer would stop her getting pregnant

Speaking on the 'Making Space' podcast, she said: "'I do remember that even the doctor said to me then, you know, one of the sort of side effects, especially at your age, which was in my 40s, early 40s, is you won't be able to have children. And I was like, 'Wait, what?' So this thing not only put limits on my life, but killed a dream."

However, Hoda - who went on to adopt daughters Haley, seven and Hope, four, with former fiance Joel Schiffman, 66 - revealed her cancer diagnosis gave her a new lease of life because "the worst had happened".

She explained: "I remember waking up one morning and saying to myself - it was like a lightning bolt - and it was like, I remember those four words. It was, you can't scare me because the worst had happened. So now what? Now what am I afraid of? And so not being afraid released me. It made me free, it was amazing.

"Asking for what you deserve is something that you should be able to do without worrying about, 'Well I'm doing this because maybe I won't live that long'. We shouldn't have to have that in order to propel us to ask for what we deserve. Like, why do you have to have a terrible diagnosis before you're free?"