The Today Show team will never hesitate to rally behind one of their own.
On the Monday, November 2 installment of TODAY, anchor Craig Melvin declared "hopeful news" in the battle against Alzheimer's disease as he kicked off a segment featuring NBC News producer Susan Kroll, who Savannah Guthrie described as "very dear to us."
Together with senior national correspondent Kate Snow, the veteran NBC producer detailed her fight against Alzheimer's, after her mother was diagnosed with the disease, and she found herself at a high genetic risk for it.
© TODAYSpeaking with Kate, Susan, 58, detailed the "dramatic changes" she has made to her life in the hope that it will stop the disease from developing in her brain, after doctors detected positive biomarkers in her brain.
"I found out my mom had Alzheimer's and I went down this path to try to help her and to figure out what this disease was about. I started to realize that it's this journey about me as well," she shared.
After doctors found elevated levels of a protein called amyloid plaque, Susan said: "I was scared, I was really scared, and I started to look back at my memory and [thought] maybe I was forgetting a few words here and there and maybe I wasn't quite as sharp," noting that she also debated whether those were signs of menopause, which can include "brain fog."
© TODAYSusan also detailed her experience tackling, and trying to reduce, her increased risk in a written feature for TODAY. "My job as a news producer is active, always running, pushing, managing. It's demanding, but I love it. I wondered if I'd have to quit and started contemplating memory care facilities where I could live and have someone take care of me," she wrote.
"Research estimates that up to 45% of dementia cases could be delayed or prevented by targeting modifiable risk factors like obesity, high cholesterol and social isolation," she shared, adding: "So, I saw my new lifestyle as a life-and-death situation with the outcome in my hands. I already had a relatively healthy diet and worked out regularly, but I needed to be doing more."
"I cut out artificial sweeteners and limited fried and processed foods, red meat, cheese, sweets and alcohol. Every day, I started eating leafy greens, whole grains, veggies and fruit, and every week multiple servings of fish, walnuts, almonds, avocado and berries."
Susan also intensified her workouts to 45-60 minutes of cardio three to four days a week, added strength training, and moved up her bedtime as well.
She also added an anti-amyloid infusion, called Kisunla, approved by the FDA in 2024, and after six infusions, she wrote: "In May this year, I had another scan to determine my progress. I went from a score of 86 to a 4. The radiologist wrote in the notes, 'The amyloid issue has resolved.'"
© TODAYThrough tears, Susan said during her segment: "There is nothing more important to me than to be telling this story right now, to be telling my story, because I know that we can help people."
"This is a story about early detection, that is what this story is all about, there is hope," she maintained.
