Columnist says he has 'only a few weeks to live'
Krauthammer’s column appeared in Freeman
NEW YORK » Fox News contributor and syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer says he has “only a few weeks to live” because of an aggressive form of cancer.
Krauthammer, whose column appeared regularly in the Sunday Freeman until his illness, disclosed his doctors’ prognosis in a letter released Friday to colleagues, friends and viewers.
Krauthammer wrote that he underwent surgery in August to remove a cancerous tumor in his abdomen. While thought to be successful, he said there were complications that he was overcoming. However, he wrote recent tests revealed the cancer has returned and is “spreading rapidly.”
Krauthammer said he will “leave this life with no regrets.”
The 68-year-old was par-
alyzed below the neck in a diving accident yet graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1975 and practiced psychiatry.
He later developed a career as a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and commentator.
••• Here is the full text of Krauthammer’s letter, provided by The Washington Post Writers group, which syndicated his newspaper column:
I have been uncharacteristically silent these past 10 months. I had thought that silence would soon be coming to an end, but I’m afraid I must tell you now that fate has decided on a different course for me.
In August of last year, I underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in my abdomen. That operation was thought to have been a success, but it caused a cascade of secondary complications — which I have been fighting in hospital ever since. It was a long and hard fight with many setbacks, but I was steadily, if slowly, overcoming each obstacle along the way and gradually making my way back to health.
However, recent tests have revealed that the cancer has returned. There was no sign of it as recently as a month ago, which means it is aggressive and spreading rapidly. My doctors tell me their best estimate is that I have only a few weeks left to live. This is the final verdict. My fight is over.
I wish to thank my doctors and caregivers, whose efforts have been magnificent. My dear friends, who have given me a lifetime of memories and whose support has sustained me through these difficult months. And all of my partners at The Washington Post, Fox News and Crown Publishing.
Lastly, I thank my colleagues, my readers, and my viewers, who have made my career possible and given consequence to my life’s work. I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking. I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation’s destiny.
I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.