Longtime NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell and wife of former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, announced on the air today that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and urged women to take their regular screening.

Mitchell said the cancer was discovered during her annual screening and is in the "earliest stages" because it had not spread. She described the prognosis as "terrific."

"I am now among the 1 in 8 women in this country - incredibly 1 in 8- who have had breast cancer", Mitchell said Wednesday.

Mitchell didn't give more details on the treatment she underwent.

An estimated of 230,480 new cases of breast cancer in women have been diagnosed and about 39,520 deaths have been reported as of 2011, according to the National Cancer Institute.

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