The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Kathy Griffin says she is undergoing surgery for lung cancer
NEW YORK >> Kathy Griffin has revealed that she is undergoing surgery for lung cancer and her doctors are optimistic she “should be up and running around as usual in a month or less.”
The comedian took to Instagram and Twitter Monday to say her cancer was caught early and confined to her left lung.
The surgery will result in half her left lung being removed.
“Yes I have lung cancer even though I’ve never smoked!” she said in a statement online.
Griffin said her doctors are “optimistic” after catching it at stage one and don’t believe she will need chemotherapy or radiation.
“It’s been a helluva four years, trying to get back to work, making you guys laugh and entertaining you, but I’m gonna be just fine,” she wrote. “Please stay up to date on your medical check ups.”
Well-wishers included Jane Lynch, who wrote on Twitter: “I’m beaming out to you all my love and vibes for good health,” and Ashley Nicole Black, who wrote: “Praying for you! So many folks got your back!”
Griffin has had a tumultuous few years, including facing backlash in 2017 for taking part in a photoshoot that showed her holding up a fake bloody head resembling former President Donald Trump. Her sister, Joyce Griffin, died of cancer in September 2017, and her mother, Maggie Griffin, died in March 2020 after battling dementia.