Veteran broadcaster Bryant Gumbel told a TV audience today that he has lung cancer and had secret surgery two months ago to remove a malignant tumor.
Gumbel, 61, was filling in for Regis Philbin on his show “Live with Regis and Kelly” when he made the announcement.
Philbin took time off to undergo successful hip replacement surgery.
Gumbel, a former “Today” show anchor and the host of HBO’s “Real Sports,” said part of his lung was removed during the operation.
“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. I’m hoping they greenlight me to play golf again.”
Gumbel made the revelation after co-host Kelly Ripa asked him to dance during a segment of the show. He told her he could not strain himself.
“The pathology on most of the stuff came back benign,” Gumbel said. “But enough aggressive cells had escaped the tumor that it warranted some treatment and I went though that and it’s done.”