Kathy Griffin Reveals Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Comedian and actress Kathy Griffin revealed on Monday that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. The 60-year-old shared her diagnosis on Twitter, where she revealed she would undergo surgery to have “half of my left lung removed.” Griffin, who in 2017 lost her sister Joyce to cancer, assured fans that her “doctors are very optimistic” about her prognosis.

In an emotional message shared with fans, the comedian wrote, “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.” Griffin added, “Yes, I have lung cancer even though I’ve never smoked!” According to Griffin, the cancer is “stage one and contained” to her left lung, and doctors “are very optimistic… Hopefully, no chemo or radiation after this, and I should have normal function with my breathing.” Griffin said she expects to be up “and running around as usual in a month or less.”

In the Monday post, which came just days after Griffin shared a photo of her filming a new project, Griffin also reflected on the past several years, noting that “it’s been a helluva 4 years.” She said she is “trying to get back to work, making you guys laugh and entertaining you, but I’m gonna be just fine.” Griffin also confirmed that she’s “fully vaccinated” against the coronavirus and said, “the consequences for being unvaccinated would have been even more serious.” She encouraged others to “please stay up to date on your medical checkups. It’ll save your life.”

Griffin did not provide any further details. Her diagnosis comes just four years after her sister, Joyce, died of cancer in September 2017 at 65. Sharing news of her sister’s passing at the time, Griffin, who had shaved her head in solidarity with her sister as she underwent chemotherapy, wrote, “my sister Joyce passed away peacefully last night.” Encouraging her fans to “support American Cancer Society Society,” Griffin shared a video of her sister in a hospital bed that segued into an illustration of her on the beach, writing overtop the clip, “This is where she always wanted to be … & now she’s having a mai tai on the beach in heaven.” Joyce’s passing came just three years after Griffin’s older brother, Gary, passed away from stage-four esophageal cancer at 63 in 2014.