Kathy Griffin Shares Candid Update on Lung Surgery Following Cancer Diagnosis

Comedian Kathy Griffin shared an update on her recovery after having part of her left lung removed earlier this week. Griffin, 60, announced she was diagnosed with lung cancer on Monday. Two days later, Griffin said she was going to sleep without any narcotic pain killers, after a year of staying sober.

“To be honest, this cancer surgery was a little more than I anticipated,” Griffin began. She noted she would not be taking any painkillers before trying to sleep, but would instead take Tylenol, her “new best friend.” This was the first time she was in the hospital since she attempted suicide in June 2020 by overdosing on prescription pills.

“With over a year clean and drug-free, I now know I can do this and anything I want without those devil pills,” the Kathy Griffin: My Live on the D-List star wrote. “Y’know what? I fear drugs and addiction more than I fear cancer. So, I think I’ll be ok.”

Back on Monday morning, Griffin told her fans she needed to have half of her lung removed because she was diagnosed with lung cancer, even though she 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,” Griffin wrote. She predicted she could be back to work “as usual in a month or less.” She also added a message to those who have not gotten a coronavirus vaccine yet, adding, “The consequences of being unvaccinated would have been more serious.”

Griffin’s reps later told Variety the surgery went well. On Tuesday, Griffin confirmed the surgery went well and she was “grateful for all the love” she received from fans. “I was very nervous about opening up on [Nightline] re my suicidal ideations and my prescription pill addiction,” Griffin wrote. “This keychain means the world to me. One day at a time.”

Before the surgery, Griffin spoke with ABC News‘ Nightline, revealing that she attempted suicide last year and developed a pill addiction during the fallout from her controversial 2017 photos with a bloody President Trump mask. “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,” Griffin told Nightline. “I got my living revocable trust in order. I had all my ducks in a row. I wrote the note — the whole thing.” She credited her husband, Randy Bick, and her doctor with helping her get help and begin her sobriety journey.

“Really just days ago — like, I think two weeks ago — I was diagnosed with cancer,” Griffin said on Nightline. “As a friend of mine had said, ‘How many kicks in the nuts can you take?’ My nuts are pretty strong, but it’s a challenge. I was definitely in shock. 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—? Is this a b— or what?’”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.