Bryant Gumbel announces he has lung cancer

[bermudat]

Source: Huffington Post

Bryant Gumbel announced Tuesday morning that he had cancer surgery two months ago to remove a malignant tumor on his lung.

Gumbel was guest-hosting "Live! with Regis and Kelly," filling in for Regis Philbin, who recently underwent successful hip replacement surgery.

Gumbel told viewers that he kept his surgery private, and that part of his lung was removed in the surgery. He and his doctor hope that his treatment is completed.

"We had told a few people, we told my family, obviously," Gumbel said. "I even kept it from my staff at 'Real Sports.' So I'm okay for the time being."

Gumbel said that he is seeing his surgeon next week.

"I'm hoping they greenlight me to play golf again," he said.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/08/bryant-gumbel-cancer-anno_n_383844.html

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I hope everything turns out ok.

[rfranklin]

1. Was he a smoker?

I personally worry that the twenty years of smoking I did may come back to haunt me in this way.

[Inspired]

7. Just living causes cancer. You quit, that's the important part.

[snagglepuss]

12. I hope you are reading then about the importance of Vitamin D3.

Hard science has shown Vitamin d is critical to lung health.

[kestrel91316]

13. Every year that passes since you quit, your risk is less. I think by 20 years

post-quitting, your risk is no greater than a non-smoker's.

[No Elephants]

39. Don't worry. You did all you could do about the past: you quit. Going forward,

exercise, watch your nutrition and manage stress. (Worrying is stressful; and stress is not good for your health.)

[no_hypocrisy]

2. My mother died due to lung cancer.

By the time it was discovered, it was Stage IV and moving very aggressively.

She was a smoker but had stopped for 20+ years. But the damage had been done.

Then you have cases like comedian Andy Kaufman who also succumbed to lung cancer and never smoked.

[tonysam]

22. I am not a doctor, but I read that the small-cell variety of LC is almost always affects smokers,

while the non-small cell kind can affect both smokers and non-smokers. The latter is far more common.

[Thor_MN]

38. Andy Kaufman spent a lot of time in clubs where smoking was OK

Anyone who did standup in that era was a second hand smoker.

[JohnnyLib2]

3. Damn, damn the cancer.

[napi21]

4. And you also have some people who smoked all their lives and

never get LC.

[dsharp88]

5. Obviously, that's very rare.

Smoking is the major cause of LC. Statistically, smokers who don't die from LC die most often from a Heart Attack, which is also caused by smoking.

[safeinOhio]

20. The family was so glad when Dad quit smoking

when he was 80 years old, if not he would have never made it to 90.

I stopped after 40 years a few months ago. Was sure I'm still going to die of cancer. Then I found a site that you put in the years you smoked and how much(2 packs/day) etc and it tells you the chances of your that you'll die of lung cancer. I freaked when I saw my chances were only 7%.

On the other hand, I have known only 2 people that have survived lung cancer and neither ever smoked.

[RobinA]

27. Uhh....no

Smoking and not getting lung cancer is actually quite common. Cancer and heart disease are the two leading causes of death, smoking or not smoking. A better understanding of statistics might help. Not that I'm suggesting smoking, it just annoys me to see the nonsense that gets picked around in the name of statistics.

[trotsky]

6. And you have some people who drink heavily all their lives...

and never get cirrhosis. Your point?

[closeupready]

10. Yeah, like my great aunt or her sister (my grandmother).

Both smoked heavily, as many people in that generation did, and yet both had healthy lung tissue when they died of causes not related to smoking.

[napi21]

17. I honestly think they will find that some people are more

susceptable to LC the same as some have allergies and others don't. From my past observations, genetics has a lot more to do with what diseases you get & how long you live.

[No Elephants]

40. Bingo. It's a combination of a genetic pre-disposition, general health and smoking.

[kestrel91316]

14. My dad's mom smoked her whole life and waited until she was 85 to get lung cancer.

My dad (her son) died of it at age 47, 16 years after quitting. Go figure.

I dont smoke. Period.

[No Elephants]

41. "Go figure." If she smoked all her life, does that mean she smoked while he was in utero?

If so, that may have had something to do with it.

[Inspired]

8. So, if he was a smoker, does that make the news any less sad?

[crim son]

9. No, but

it makes us nonsmokers feel less endangered. I wish him well.

[SOS]

30. According to today's paper

The tumor was not in his lung, but rather near it, on the outside of the lung.
He was not a smoker.

[crim son]

33. Ah.

Either way I have nothing but compassion for cancer sufferers and this world will be a hell of a lot better off when we figure out how to kill the disease before it kills us.

[RobinA]

28. Yes, Because

in Zealot World if he smoked he was a dirty rotten sinner who deserves to suffer and die. New here? It's an odd brand of secular fundamentalism calling itself liberalism.

[Inspired]

31. No, I'm not new here!

[CreekDog]

37. You know, I don't think that's why people are asking

People want to come up with an explanation for why people are hit with a disease. For those who don't smoke, getting it as he did, would probably increase their anxiety.

[bluedeminredstate]

11. Dana Reeve died of LC

She never smoked in her life. She died relatively soon after she was diagnosed.

I was just watching TV when Bryant made the announcement about a half hour ago. He said he wasn't ashamed of his diagnosis but just wanted privacy during the surgery and recovery. I happen to love Bryant Gumbel and wish him well. Whenever The Today Show starts in the morning with the announcer saying the hosts names I still expect to hear "...with Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley" and it takes me aback when I hear him say "Matt Lauer." It's been what? 13 years? 15 years? since Matt took over, but I think the show was best with Bryant and Jane and then Bryant and Katie.

Get well Mr. Gumbel and take care of yourself!

[kestrel91316]

15. Dana Reeve had horrendous second-hand smoke exposure from all

her years as a singer in lounges and venues where smoking was still permitted.

[blueworld]

21. So did everyone alive since WWII - did she suck up car exhaust? Good grief. n/t

[kestrel91316]

25. Everyone alive since WWII was working in smoky lounges???

I must have struck a nerve. How many people have YOU killed with YOUR secondhand smoke, douchebag?

[Inspired]

32. WOW! Do you need a hug or something? Or perhaps an anger management class?

[dmallind]

29. Yep - which is why ETS kills 49000 a year in the US alone. NT

[CreekDog]

35. That's the main reason California ended smoking in bars, restaurants and clubs --workers comp

second hand smoke was endangering workers who then would have valid claim for workers compensation for a very expensive illness.

not to mention the health consequences for others.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Le Taz Hot]

19. That was classless.

:thumbsdown:

[FreeStateDemocrat]

18. Could be worse, if you have lung cancer and no insurance or millions for the best medical care.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. whoa. Wish him well.

[Cirque du So-What]

24. I saw Bryant Gumbel in a quick spot for his show on HBO

and I didn't recognize him. Granted, I hadn't seen him since he was on The Today Show many years ago, but the change in appearance was surprising. I don't know whether or not it's related to this illness; I'll have to look at that ad again.

Best wishes for his recovery.

[CreekDog]

36. Well he's 61 and he was in his 30's and 40's as Today show host

I thought he looked okay considering.

Also his show on HBO is quite good, even if you aren't into sports. Bryant Gumbel is insightful and refreshingly honest.

[Javaman]

26. Classy guy.

He could have easily milked his lung cancer on the celebrity talk show circuit but chose not too.

I really wish him luck in his recovery.

The want of a deep breath is what my dad stated before he died.

[No Elephants]

42. I see people talking about their diseases on talk shows as a public service, not as milking the

disease. Sometimes, it's fundraising as well as educatiing the public.

[MellowDem]

34. They said he smoked cigars nt