Tom Brokaw recounts painful exit from NBC News amid decade-long battle with blood cancer

Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Tom Brokaw on 'Today' in 2018

Iconic TV anchor Tom Brokaw is opening up about his painful decision to retire from NBC News due to his battle with incurable blood cancer.

In an interview with longtime friend and fellow journalist Jane Pauley airing this weekend on CBS News Sunday Morning, Brokaw recounts how difficult it was to part ways with NBC in 2021, eight years after he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

"I've had to change my life in some way," Brokaw, 83, says a preview clip released Friday. "I really had to give up my daily activity with NBC. You know, I had to walk away from them, as they were walking away from me. I just wasn't the same person… And so for the first time in my life, I was kind of out there, you know, in a place I had never been in my life."

Brokaw first bid farewell to his coveted position at NBC News and a network he had called home since 1966. After his departure from anchoring NBC Nightly News in 2004, he transitioned into an elder-statesman role. However, the disease altered his path, prompting him to step back from the station.

The venerable journalist also recalls the uncertainty he faced upon retiring after a 55-year career. "For the first time in my life, I found myself in uncharted territory, navigating through unfamiliar waters," he says.

In his sit-down with Pauley, Brokaw speaks about how his diagnosis humbled him. "I've faced my fair share of hardships," he says. "I used to believe that I was somehow immune to life's adversities. However, as I've grown older, this condition has become an undeniable reality. The key is doing everything in your power to manage it."

Brokaw and Pauley previously hosted NBC's morning program Today together, from 1976 to 1981.

Their discussion comes as Brokaw releases his memoir Never Give Up: A Prairie Family's Story, which serves as a love letter to his hard-working parents.

Watch a preview of Brokaw's interview above.

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