Comedienne Kathy Griffin diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer: "I have never smoked."

[MinusTydus]

Reminding you that cancer does not give one single fuck:

Comedian Kathy Griffin has surgery for lung cancer but says she has never smoked

A representative said the operation "went well and as planned." Griffin said before the procedure that doctors are optimistic about her recovery.

www.nbcnews.com

Kathy Griffin battles lung cancer, shares about dark chapter of addiction

Kathy Griffin speaks to Nightline about her drug addiction following the fallout from the Trump photo and her recent lung cancer diagnosis.

abcnews.go.com

Comedian Kathy Griffin had surgery for lung cancer on Monday, but said prior to the procedure that doctors "are very optimistic" she can make a full recovery and even avoid chemotherapy.

The "My Life on the D-List" funny woman said [on Monday morning] that half of her left lung would be removed.

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. Yes, I have lung cancer even though I've 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. I should be up and running around as usual in a month or less. 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. Of course I am fully vaccinated for Covid. The consequences for being unvaccinated would have been even more serious. Please stay up to date on your medical check ups. It'll save your life. XXOO, KG

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A representative for Griffin said on Monday afternoon that the surgery "went well and as planned."

"Kathy is now in recovery now and resting," the spokesperson said. "Doctors say the procedure was normal without any surprises."

More at the links. Her interview airs August 2 on Nightline.

 

[squeakywheel]

Maybe she's been around people who smoked near her? My aunt is the same thing. She got cancer from my Uncle who was at least a pack-a-day and never got cancer. Life is so unfair sometimes. I hope she recovers.

 

[smurfx]

Maybe she's been around people who smoked near her? My aunt is the same thing. She got cancer from my Uncle who was at least a pack-a-day and never got cancer. Life is so unfair sometimes. I hope she recovers.

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she's a comedian so she's been at smoky comedy clubs for decades.

 

[MrConbon210]

I believe her sister suffered from cancer as well? Could it be genetics?

 

[RowdyReverb]

I wonder how they picked it up in such an early stage. That's a great save

 

[Rodney McKay]

There was an old episode of House that always stuck with me for some reason.

It was a really obese man who was sick and they were constantly sure it was his weight that was the issue, but then it turned out he had lung cancer even though he had never smoked.

 

[Adventureracing]

Maybe she's been around people who smoked near her? My aunt is the same thing. She got cancer from my Uncle who was at least a pack-a-day and never got cancer. Life is so unfair sometimes. I hope she recovers.

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You can get forms of lung cancer without smoking. Also there are other things that can lead to lung cancer like pollution.

 

[jkanownik]

Radon can cause lung cancer and is all over the LA area.

 

[brawndolicious]

Grandfather on my mothers side got it and died from it in his 70s. He never smoked and his wife also did not smoke.

Grandfather on my fathers side however smoked for years and years and lived to 92. He actually never got any sort of cancer, I think he passed away suddenly in his sleep from pneumonia or something.

Both of them lived in the same city during the same time period so exposure to pollution would have been about equal. I think genetics just matter a lot when it comes to cancers.

 

[Volimar]

Imagine every smoke filled dive she's performed in. Glad the outlook seems good.

 

[mbpm]

Talk of pollution is reminding me that the air probably isn't getting better in the coming decades

 

[entremet]

Radon can cause lung cancer and is all over the LA area.

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How does it get propagated?

 

[GoldenEye 007]

How does it get propagated?

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Just comes naturally from the ground. So it depends on the ground itself on how much is released, etc.

 

[entremet]

Just comes naturally from the ground. So it depends on the ground itself on how much is released, etc.

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Wow.

 

[lunarworks]

Hope she recovers.

she's a comedian so she's been at smoky comedy clubs for decades.

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That's why they banned smoking at indoor establishments entirely around here. It's a health risk for the staff.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Wow.

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Yeah, it can be mitigated, though. Both with detectors just so you know it's there. And by various efforts to seal the foundation/basement, etc. Higher concentrations of uranium and other radioactive rocks in the soil can lead to more radon gas release.

 

[Atolm]

How does it get propagated?

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It's an colorless, odorless and tasteless gas and the 2nd cause of lung cancer after tobacco. It tends to be more frequent on areas with abundance of granitic rock and it accumulates in poorly-ventilated houses and places such as mines. It's a product from the natural decay of radium.

Where I'm from it's considered a high-radon area and there has been studies about abnormal high rates of cancer in certain populations.

 

[kiaaa]

My dad just got told he might have lung cancer. He recently quit smoking and drinking after 40+ years because of a heart condition.

The fact that she (so far) has gotten off pretty easily makes me a little more optimistic about the whole thing.

 

[GungHo]

A lot of different ways to get lung cancer beyond smoking.

 

[wenis]

Damn that's wild. Glad they caught it early.

 

[PonyStation]

If you live in a basement that's underground in an older house then there's a chance you could get cancer from Radon

 

[GeoGonzo]

My dad's best friend died from lung cancer without ever smoking. Cancer fucking sucks and sometimes you just get incredibly unlucky.

Glad to hear things are looking good for her, though.

 

[MatchaMouse]

The author of When Breath Becomes Air developed stage IV lung cancer even though he never smoked. I think the root cause of his was genetic.

 

[Cantaim]

Lung cancer is an evil bastard because of it's connections to smoking. Around 20% of people with lung cancer in the U.S. have never smoked a day in their life. It's a good chunk but there is still a powerful perception that lung cancer only comes from smoking when that simply isn't the case. Smoking is just the leading cause for most patients.

I wish Kathy the best and hope she beats the shit out of this. Lung cancer can eat shit. It's taken one too many of my family over the decades.

 

[Dekim]

The fact of the matter is, if you live long enough, you will eventually get cancer. However, your genetics goes a long way in determining whether you get cancer at 35 or 75. Some people are just born with resilient bodies when it comes to cancer. They can be a chain smoker for decades and never develop any smoking related cancers. Other people get the short straw genetically and are very susceptible to cancers at relatively young ages (Chadwick Bosman) and can get cancer even if they aren't exposing themselves carcinogens in heavy amounts (Kathy Griffin).

 

[DanGo]

It was caught at Stage 1, so she's lucky as fuck. There are options at that point.

My mom, non-smoker, went to the doctor for a cough and found out she had Stage 3b, so that was fucking brutal. She survived about three years.

 

[echoshifting]

Wow, she's incredibly lucky. They never find it that early. I wonder how they caught it.

 

[Z-Beat]

Maybe she's been around people who smoked near her? My aunt is the same thing. She got cancer from my Uncle who was at least a pack-a-day and never got cancer. Life is so unfair sometimes. I hope she recovers.

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In a comedy club you may as well be inside a giant cigarette

 

[Messofanego]

Hope she recovers well from this.

That sucks to hear that after the Trump photo, things didn't go well for her. It's still so punk and memorable.

Spoiler: NSFW

 

[faint]

It was caught at Stage 1, so she's lucky as fuck. There are options at that point.

My mom, non-smoker, went to the doctor for a cough and found out she had Stage 3b, so that was fucking brutal. She survived about three years.

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Currently dealing with a similar issue, although it's my dad. He was recently diagnosed with stage 4. We got news this weekend that best case scenario (chemo), he'll live 8 months, but if his body doesn't react to it, it could be as few as 3. It's devastating and so sudden.

 

[Deleted member 1088]

Lung Adenocarcinoma is classically seen in female non-smokers

 

[Rendering...]

It's fortunate this was caught at stage 1. Hope she has a speedy recovery.

 

[VariantX]

Shes got a good shot at recovery if they caught it at stage 1. My stepdad wasn't diagnosed until he was late into stage 4 and there was basically little that could be done for him. He was also smoking all the way up to the point he was diagnosed too so its a good idea to never pick that habit up.

 

[DanGo]

Currently dealing with a similar issue, although it's my dad. He was recently diagnosed with stage 4. We got news this weekend that best case scenario (chemo), he'll live 8 months, but if his body doesn't react to it, it could be as few as 3. It's devastating and so sudden.

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Damn, I'm so sorry. Without getting too grim, treasure what time you have. Hopefully chemo works for him and without too much reduction in quality of life.

 

[faint]

Damn, I'm so sorry. Without getting too grim, treasure what time you have. Hopefully chemo works for him and without too much reduction in quality of life.

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For sure. I find myself thinking back to times I've seen people say things like "treasure what time you have left," "life is too short," etc etc. I've always read them, thought about it for a second, and then immediately forgot about them. Yet lately I've been realizing the people saying these kinds of things are doing so because they learned the hard way. I think it's just an uncomfortable thought and life is something we take for granted, so it's not until you know that's coming to an end that you realize and learn things you can or should have done differently.

 

[loco]

My father in law was diagnosed with lung cancer at stage 1 but it was so aggressive that it was stage 4 lights out within 6 months. Chemo did fuck all. Good luck to her and hoping it's not a death sentence.

 

[Artdayne]

My brother died of lung cancer last year and he wasn't a smoker. It is a misconception that lung cancer only affects smokers.

 

[Deleted member 35987]

I wonder how they picked it up in such an early stage. That's a great save

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Routine chest x-ray are not uncommon at her age, no?

 

[chuckddd]

If you live in a basement that's underground in an older house then there's a chance you could get cancer from Radon

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I've seen basements in brand new houses read 100x the EPA action level. Those newer basements are much more likely to be built out to be livable, too.

 

[powersurge]

Folks forget how dangerous second hand smoke is to others. It can even cause HEARING LOSS. My mother is partially hard of hearing and has experienced a life long fight with ear issues from growing up with her father's second hand smoke.

Dozen different ways she could of been exposed via pollution too (or tons of bad crap in old houses and buildings). Hell the ceilings of the middle school I went to were asbestos lol.

 

[Truant]

I don't know how effective the "non-smoker" narrative really is. In my experience it's only resulted in smokers giving even less of a fuck since you can get it "organically" anyway.

 

[RowdyReverb]

Routine chest x-ray are not uncommon at her age, no?

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I don't think anybody does routine chest x-ray for cancer screening anymore. I think people with smoking history get screening chest CT, but she said she never smoked

 

[echoshifting]

I don't know how effective the "non-smoker" narrative really is. In my experience it's only resulted in smokers giving even less of a fuck since you can get it "organically" anyway.

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People feel the need to say that because of the heinous narrative in our society that a victim of "self-inflicted" cancer is worthy of neither sympathy nor compassion

 

[Jmdajr]

Fucking A. Now I am looking at Radon maps.

Man what horrible luck for her.

 

[Shadybiz]

That is a shame, but I'm glad that it looks like she's out of the woods.

Reminds me...I really should schedule a chest x-ray soon. Smoked for too long, like an idiot, and I'm not getting any younger.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Cancer! Hey, cancer, over here, dude! Come closer, cancer, I have something important to tell you.
...
Go fuck yourself.

 

[Deleted member 17676]

Thank fuck they introduced smoking ban in public places when I was young in the UK. So I rarely have experienced someone's second hand smoke as a result of that.

 

[nonoriri]

My mom died of lung cancer and never smoked. Apparently, there are specific non-smoker types of lung cancer that you can get. :\

 

[Ghgghggh]

Our land, air and water are unimaginably polluted. I think of these extraordinary rates of cancer as a consequence of industry. But how many people would be on board with de-escalating industrial processes to reduce cancer and the other horrors caused upon human and non human life? We reap what we sow. Actions have consequences. Fuck cancer ? Fuck us.

 

[Travo]

This is sad. Years of hanging around smokers in comedy clubs, I suppose. It's sort of a fear of mine, getting lung cancer through second hand smoke, though I haven't hung around smokers in decades.