“Today” host Savannah Guthrie returned to her anchor job after more than one month away recovering from vocal cord surgery. She opened up about her journey, explaining why she “cried tears of joy” after learning her diagnosis.
Savannah Guthrie Steps Away From ‘Today’
Guthrie first announced she would be stepping away from her hosting duties during the December 19 show.
“Some of you have noticed that my voice has been very scratchy and started to crack a little bit,” Guthrie shared on air at the time. “Well, I have found out what it is. I have vocal nodules and I also have a polyp. It’s not a big, big deal, but I am going to have to have a surgery in the new year and be off for a couple of weeks, so this is my last day for a little while.”
She periodically checked in with her cohosts to share updates on her recovery, often using a whiteboard to communicate.
“All good! Thanks for prayers and love!” she scribbled on a whiteboard and flashed to the camera with a smile on January 5.
Savannah Guthrie Details Diagnosis Timeline
Following her return on Monday, January 26, Guthrie shared more insight into her diagnosis, revealing that she “cried tears of joy” after doctors informed her that surgery was an option.
“A voice is very foundational to your soul and your spirit. And I was very discouraged,” Guthrie told People the following day. “So by the time they said, ‘You need surgery and we can fix this,’ I was so happy I cried tears of joy.”
Guthrie explained that she noticed her voice getting deeper over the years, but put off getting it looked at by doctors.
“And it’s really just in the last year or two that I felt like it was not just deeper, but it was raspier, scratchier. And I tried to tell myself it was good, like a sexy Demi Moore kind of thing!” she told the outlet. “But then by the end, it was really, really noticeable and it wasn’t just scratchy. It was cracking in the middle of a sentence, and I couldn’t really ignore it anymore.”
After doctors discovered a polyp—which she described as “a burst blood vessel on your vocal cords”—surgery became necessary. While she was never in any pain, Guthrie called the vocal cord issue “frustrating” and “embarrassing.”
“The minute I could say it to the world and the minute I knew there was a solution, my spirits lifted so much. I was so happy and so grateful that this is not a big deal,” she told People.
