‘Heart & soul of Atlanta.’ Georgia TV anchor dies months after brain cancer diagnosis
Longtime journalist and Atlanta news anchor Jovita Moore has died months after being diagnosed with a rare brain cancer. She was 54 years old.
WSB-TV Atlanta confirmed the news Friday morning.
“It is with a broken heart that we announce the passing of our beloved Jovita Moore,” the station posted. “Please keep her children, her mother and her entire Channel 2 family in your prayers today.”
Moore revealed in April that doctors had found two tumors on her brain, and she underwent surgery to have them removed, McClatchy News previously reported. She confirmed her diagnosis of glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, in late July.
Moore worked as a reporter at WMC-TV in Memphis, Tennessee, and KFSM in Fayetteville, Arkansas before joining WSB-TV in 1998, according to her biography on the station’s website. The New York native volunteered her time to several local nonprofit organizations and mentored students. She also held several career awards and was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Southeast Chapter’s Silver Circle in 2017.
She’s survived by her mom and two kids, who she praised as “the most important accomplishments of her life,” WSB-TV reported.
News of Moore’s passing prompted an outpouring of heartfelt tributes from fellow journalists, colleagues and viewers.
What is glioblastoma?
Glioblastoma is a cancer that causes masses that can form in any part of the brain. The malignant tumors are “nourished by an ample and abnormal tumor vessel blood supply” and can reproduce themselves “at any given time,” according to the American Brain Tumor Association.
The National Institutes of Health reports that nearly 80,000 people in the U.S. receive a primary brain tumor diagnosis each year. Glioblastomas account for about 15%, according to the ABTA.
There is currently no cure.
Late U.S. Sen. John McCain and Beau Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, also battled glioblastoma before passing away in 2018 and 2015, respectively.
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 9:33 AM with the headline "‘Heart & soul of Atlanta.’ Georgia TV anchor dies months after brain cancer diagnosis."