Kathy Griffin has revealed that she has lung cancer and will be undergoing surgery.
Speaking with ABC News’ Juju Chang in an interview that aired Monday, the comedian shared that she had learned of the diagnosis a few weeks ago and was shocked, especially since she had never smoked before.
"I'm still a little bit in shock. Not denial, but ... once a day, I'll just turn to, like, nobody next to me and go, 'Can you believe this s**t? Is this a bitch or what,'" she said. "It's stage 1. It's nowhere else in my body. So I need to focus on that."
Griffin explained that she had known of a mass on her lung, which she had been monitoring for years and which had never grown. Then she went for X-rays and learned it had doubled in size. She was scheduled to have it removed on Monday.
"I'm about to lose half my lung, and by the way, can I tell you something? When you're a comic, the doctors all wanna be funny. … I love when they try material on me, like it hasn't been happening to me for 40 freaking years," she said.
Griffin also announced her diagnosis and surgery Monday on Instagram, explaining that the doctors were feeling "optimistic" as it was stage 1 cancer and contained to her left lung.
"It's been a helluva 4 years, trying to get back to work, making you guys laugh and entertaining you, but I'm gonna be just fine," she continued, adding that she was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and urged her followers to monitor their own health.
"The consequences of being unvaccinated would have been even more serious," she wrote. "Please stay up to date on your medical checkups. It’ll save your life."
During her interview with ABC, Griffin also opened up about struggling with addiction as well as thoughts of suicide amid backlash that followed a photoshoot she did holding a fake, bloodied head that resembled Donald Trump. Griffin later issued an apology but the ramifications were extensive.
She was axed from her position as co-host on CNN's New Year's Eve broadcast, lost various endorsement contracts, and suffered several live performance cancellations as a result. Adding to her woes, the Secret Service launched an investigation into the post while Griffin bared the brunt of an aggressive public campaign launched against her by the Trump family.
Griffin bounced back though. She managed to get a hold of her addiction and sort out her life. Now she is looking at the silver lining.
"I am so thrilled and grateful. I feel like, at 60, I'm gonna get a next chapter," she said of her sobriety. "That's the thing everyone said wasn't gonna happen. I believed [it] wasn't gonna happen."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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