Giuliana Rancic Almost Didn't Open Up About Breast Cancer

Giuliana Rancic announced her battle with breast cancer on the Today Show Monday morning. Later that day, Rancic admitted to her E! co-host, Ryan Seacrest, that she struggled with whether or not to reveal the news.

"There was a long period of time where I thought I was going to hide this from everyone, that I didn't need to tell anyone," Rancic, 37, said via satellite. "And then as time went by, I would see friends of mine that didn't know, and I would think, 'God, I wish I could let her know what I'm going through,' so that she goes and gets checked."

But Rancic is pleased with her decision. “I feel like such a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

The E! star told Today Show host Ann Curry that the doctors discovered a cancerous tumor back in August as Giuliana was prepping for her third attempt at in vitro fertilization.

"Right before I went on [Today], I was such a nervous wreck," she said. "Ann gave me tissues right before we started and said, 'Keep these under your dress.'"

And Rancic is positive she’s going to overcome the disease.

"I'm going to survive, I'm going to be just fine," declared the star, who is set for a lumpectomy and weeks of radiation treatments. "I'm not broken, but that's because I found it early."

Giuliana also prompts women to get checked:

"Truly, Ryan, the bottom line is, the earlier you find it, the better chance you have of survival.”

Rancic, 37, has been documenting her attempts to become pregnant on her reality show, Giuliana & Bill. Her husband, Bill Rancic is a property developer and winner of the first season of The Apprentice.

Giuliana told Curry that she went in for a mammogram after her third round of IVF, per her doctor’s advice.

“It’s been a shock. . . A lot of people have been asking, ‘We saw that you went and got IVF, so what happened?’ Are you pregnant?’ But sadly, we’ve had to put that off,” Rancic said.

She’s supposed to have surgery this week, followed with six and a half weeks of radiation. And despite this, Rancic says she and Bill haven’t given up on having a baby.

“Now I truly believe God was looking out for me. . . Had I gotten pregnant, a few years down the line I could have been a lot sicker. So this baby saved my life."