Kathy Griffin is fighting the battle of her life — against newly-diagnosed lung cancer.
The 60-year-old actor and comedian took to Instagram on Monday morning to reveal her diagnosis, explaining to the world in a heartfelt message that she’s battling stage one lung cancer “even though I’ve never smoked.”
Related: Kathy Griffin Did NOT Have Covid — Details Here On What Actually Landed Her In The Hospital
Cautiously optimistic about her prognosis, the My Life on the D-List alum wasted no time telling her fans what was going on. She kicked off the message like this (below):
“I’ve got to tell you guys something. I have cancer. I’m about to go into surgery to have half of my left lung removed. Yes, I have lung cancer even though I’ve never smoked! The doctors are very optimistic as it is stage one and contained to my left lung. Hopefully no chemo or radiation after this and I should have normal function with my breathing. I should be up and running around as usual in a month or less.”
So scary!!!
Although, for something as major and life-changing as cancer, it sounds like her doctors hopefully have it well under control. Obviously it’s a very serious diagnosis, but that last sentence (above) especially gives us quite a bit of hope that Kathy will come out of this healthy AF.
The funny woman continued from there, alluding to all the s**t she’s gone through in the last few years after suffering some career-changing consequences in terms of how she reacted to Donald Trump‘s presidency.
The former sitcom star continued:
“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. Of course, I am fully vaccinated for COVID. The consequences for being unvaccinated would have been even more serious. Please stay up to date on your medical check-ups. It’ll save your life.”
Wow…
Here’s the full post (below):
What a reveal. We’re all rooting for you, Kathy!
Predictably, within hours of first announcing the scary news, the redheaded star had received thousands of comments from well-wishing fans, fellow survivors, and social media followers.
Related: ‘Tiger King’ Star Begs For Early Release From Prison After Prostate Cancer Reveal
And here’s a related clip published by Nightline also on Monday morning, in which Kathy reveals a little bit more about what it’s like to now deal with a cancer diagnosis on top of everything else that’s been going on in her life:
.@kathgriffin told us that a year ago, she tried to kill herself. And kicking her addiction to prescription pills led her to this stunning diagnosis…. All her hard won life lessons @Nightline tonight https://t.co/EHlaywlxey
— Juju Chang (@JujuChangABC) August 2, 2021
Wow. Being “in shock” sounds like an understatement considering all she’s gone through over the past four years. Battling an addiction to painkillers, as well as being suicidal, Kathy shared:
“The irony is not lost on me that, a little over a year ago, all I wanted to do was die. And now, all I wanna do is live.”
She elaborated more during her interview:
“I started thinking about suicide more and more as I got into the pill addiction, and it became almost an obsessive thought. I started really convincing myself it was a good decision. I got my living revocable trust in order. I had all my ducks in a row. I wrote the note — the whole thing.”
With the help of a doctor and her husband following the suicide attempt, Griffin was finally able to seek help. The star revealed she was placed on a psychiatric hold, which then led her to working with clinicians to start her recovery journey. Now, she’s over a year sober! It was this journey that led her to see a doctor for what she thought was arthritis pain (the pills had been numbing the problem). Sadly, a mass on her lung had doubled in size:
“I’ve had it for a long time. And it gets X-rayed every three years and hasn’t grown. So she said, ‘Well, this time, it grew.’”
Wow. We’re just over here pulling for Kathy, and hoping she can quickly get beyond this health scare with no serious complications or other issues!
[Image via FayesVision/WENN]
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