ABC Meteorologist Steps Away ‘to Start 18 Weeks of Aggressive Chemotherapy’

WSYX ABC 6’s Marshall McPeek will be stepping away from the station to undergo “18 weeks of aggressive chemotherapy” in his battle against a “very rare type” of cancer.

The longtime chief meteorologist announced on April 3 that he would be starting a new round of chemotherapy as he embarked on the third phase of his cancer treatment, necessitating a lengthy hiatus from reporting the weather.

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“And here we are again. I have to temporarily say goodbye to you, again,” he said in a message to viewers. “Next week, I’m going to start 18 weeks of aggressive chemotherapy to treat what doctors say is a very rare type of sarcoma.”

“So step one in all of this was radiation, step two was surgery, and now this is step three. This is chemo to keep anything that’s left from spreading somewhere else,” he explained, adding, “They promised that I will lose my hair. I will lose my eyebrows. I will be exhausted. I might even finally lose some weight. But importantly, I’m going to lose some cancer cells. And so that’s the best part.”

McPeek continued that he has full trust in his medical team at The James Cancer Hospital, writing that they have “been incredible through all of this, and they are the ones leading this fight.”

He also placed his confidence in the rest of the station’s First Warning Weather team, assuring viewers, “They have you covered, and they’re going to keep you safe all the way through the summer.”

McPeek shared that if everything goes to plan, he hopes to return to work in about 18 weeks, putting his tentative return date sometime in August.

“I will see you back here in about eighteen weeks, and we’ll all find out how my hair grows back in,” he concluded. “It may not be the same. It could be curly and red when it comes back in.”

McPeek has been with ABC 6 and FOX28 since 2013 and was named chief meteorologist in 2018.