Kathy Griffin Gives Fans An Update On Her Health

Kathy Griffin's fans are used to being shocked by the comedian's jokes on life and celebrity gossip, but they were left stunned when she announced in August 2021 that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer, despite the fact that she had never smoked. "The doctors are very optimistic as it is stage one and contained to my left lung," Griffin announced on Twitter. "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."

Her diagnosis came after Griffin had already lost two of her siblings to cancer. Her sister Joyce passed away from the disease in September 2017, while brother Gary died of stage 4 esophageal cancer in 2014 (per People). In July 2017, Griffin even shaved her head in support of her sister, who was going through chemotherapy at the time. Little did she know she would be facing her own cancer battle a few years later. "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," Griffin said in an interview with "Nightline."

Shortly after finding out she had cancer, Griffin had surgery to remove half of her lung. Luckily, the procedure "went well and as planned" (per NBC News), and now Griffin is sharing some good news with her fans.

After surprising fans with news that she was battling stage one lung cancer, Kathy Griffin announced that she is now cancer free! "So I'm cancer free," she told Jimmy Kimmel (per People). "I don't know why, I had a tumor, right? And I've never smoked, and it was in there for 10 years. So get this, they took it out, and they found it on another scan." She also explained that her voice has changed temporarily due to an intubation tube's impact on her vocal cord. "So now I'm like Minnie Mouse meets Marilyn Monroe," she joked. "It will heal, but I'm sort of enjoying it. I'm a good two octaves higher, I think. It's higher than Mariah Carey, I know that."

Now Griffin can focus on her career and spending time with her husband, Randy Bick, whom she married on New Year's Day 2020 in a ceremony officiated by Lily Tomlin. "We promised you atypical. We are in love and we cannot stop laughing," Griffin tweeted at the time.