Bryant Gumbel has revealed he was recently treated for lung cancer. The “Real Sports” host and former “Today” show anchor made the announcement Tuesday morning while guest hosting on “Live! With Regis & Kelly.”
Gumbel, who is filling for Regis Philbin while he’s recovering from hip replacement surgery, told Kelly Ripa that he would not be able to dance with “Dancing With the Stars” pro Julianne Hough in an upcoming segment on Tuesday’s show
“I can’t dance,” he said. “I can’t…I have a note from my doctor.”
The 61-year-old then elaborated.
“Two months ago, I had cancer surgery,” he explained. “They opened up my chest. They took a malignant tumor and they took a part of my lung and some other goodies.”
Fortunately, the road ahead for Gumbel is looking good.
“The pathology on most of the stuff came up benign but enough of the aggressive cells had escaped the tumor that it warranted some treatment,” he continued. “I went through that and it’s done now.”
The host said he kept the health scare private even from many of his colleagues.
“We had told a few people, we told my family, obviously. I even kept it from my staff at ‘Real Sports.’ So I’m okay for the time being,” he said. “I’m hoping they greenlight me to play golf again.”
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