Kathy Griffin Shares Lung Cancer Diagnosis: 'I've Never Smoked!'

Kathy Griffin tells fans of her lung cancer diagnosis and upcoming surgery in new Twitter post

Comedian Kathy Griffin revealed on Twitter this morning that she’s about to have surgery to remove half her left lung due to a cancer diagnosis.

“I’ve got to tell you guys something,” she wrote. “I have cancer. I’m about to go into surgery to have half of my left lung removed.”

She goes on to explain that she’s “never smoked” despite the diagnosis and that doctors are “optimistic” about her prognosis due to the disease being stage one and contained to her left lung. “Hopefully no chemo or radiation after this and I should have normal function with my breathing,” she shares.

Griffin says she “should be up and running around as usual in a month or less” and goes on to acknowledge the tough time she’s had in the last four years after posing for a controversial photo that depicted her holding the severed head of then-president Donald Trump. “It’s been a helluva 4 years, trying to get back to work, making you guys laugh and entertaining you, but I’m gonna be just fine,” she writes.

Griffin tells fans that she has been vaccinated for COVID and that things “would have been even more serious” for her had she not. “Please stay up to date on your medical checkups. It’ll save your life,” she pleads.

The comic sat for an interview with Good Morning America where she discussed her diagnosis and an addiction to pills following the Trump photo. She also shares that she attempted suicide in June 2020. “Whether I like it or not, I think I’m a resilient survivor,” Griffin tells ABC News’ Juju Chang. She shares that in the aftermath of the photo controversy, she and people close to her began receiving death threats. Griffin says that she’s never drank in her life but became addicted to pills.

“I thought, ‘Well, I don’t even drink… Big deal, I take a couple pills now and again, who doesn’t?’” she tells Chang. “Also, my age was a big part of it. I mean, who bottoms out and tries to take their life at 59? It’s almost a joke, right, and by the way, someday, this will all be comedy. Trust me… I was laughing to stay alive. And what I found is I felt like if I can’t make others laugh, then there’s no purpose for me to live. There’s no reason for me to live.”

Of her diagnosis coming shortly after that dark time, she says: “The irony is not lost on me that, a little over a year ago, all I wanted to do was die. And now, all I wanna do is live.”

Griffin told Chang her surgery was happening today, so sending our very best wishes for a fast recovery.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).