Veteran ESPN reporter Shelley Smith is set to return to work six months after announcing she had cancer . Smith revealed on Twitter last October that she had breast cancer , and since then has undergone chemotherapy . She will make her first appearance on April 30 , just before the NFL draft . Scroll down for video . Veteran ESPN reporter Shelley Smith ( above ) is set to return to work six months after announcing she had breast cancer . Smith ( above with Carmelo Anthony ) will make her first appearance on April 30 , just before the NFL draft , . interviewing Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota . She revealed she had cancer on twitter last October . Smith , 56 , also revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated , where she worked prior to her position at ESPN , that she will not be wearing a wig upon her return and is proud of her bald head . ' I have a friend who is a former oncology nurse who tells me that when your hair falls out , it means the chemo is working , ' she said . 'That ’ s the attitude I took into this . I miss my hair , but I took what she said to heart : My bald head means I have a fight and I look at it as being fortunate to have a battle . ' For her first assignment back , Smith will head to Hawaii and be with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota for a feature that will air prior to the draft . Mariota , the winner of this year 's Heiman Trophy , is expected by most pundits to go first or second in the draft alongside Florida star , and fellow quarterback , Jameis Winston . She will also be with Mariota during the draft and interview him after he is selected before she returns for five more rounds of chemotherapy . Smith ( above ) will undergo five more rounds of chemotherapy after the NFL draft . And while she says she still has a long road to recovery , she is getting back into the swing of things - and even hitting the gym . ' I wasn ’ t very good , but I did it , ' she said . ' I get stronger every day and that really helps my confidence . You never really know how strong you are until you go through something like this and I feel really strong . I ’ m excited to get back to work . ' She then added ; 'There are no guarantees , but I have been told if I do everything I have to do now I give myself the best chance possible to stay cancer-free for the rest of my life . '
Veteran ESPN reporter Shelley Smith is set to return to work April 30 after announcing she had breast cancer . She will make her first appearance on six months , just before the NFL draft , . interviewing Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota . After that she will return for five more rounds of chemotherapy .