Kathy Griffin Gives Brutally Honest Health Update, Says She Fears 'Drugs And Addiction More Than I Fear Cancer'
Kathy Griffin has given fans a brutally honest health update after she had surgery following a lung cancer diagnosis.
The 60-year-old took to Twitter on Wednesday, August 4, to let her fans know how the surgery went and made a shocking revelation about previously attempting to take her own life.
"To be honest, this cancer surgery was a little more than I had anticipated," the comedian admitted. "Tonight will be my first night without my narcotic pain killers. Hello, Tylenol, my new best friend!"
"The last time I was in a hospital was June 2020 when I tried to take my own life and overdosed on prescription pills," Griffin admitted. "With over a year clean and drug free, I now know that I can do this and anything I want without those devil pills."
The Emmy Award winner concluded the statement by saying that she feared "drugs and addiction more than I fear cancer. So, I think I'll be ok."
Fans took to the comment section to send well wishes to the stand-up comedian.
"I am glad to read your positive tweets. You may have been given a peak [sic] into what it means to count your blessings. You are changed I bet. Keep up the good work!" one fan wrote.
"So glad you’re doing better. And I am proud of you for your strength because it shows youre a fighter. xo," another fan commented.
"Sending you best wishes for a full and complete recovery, and for continued sobriety and healing," a third fan wrote.
Griffin revealed that she had lung cancer earlier this week despite not being a smoker. She also announced during an interview with Nightline, that she had dealt with an addiction to painkillers in private.
Griffin told Nightline that she had been prescribed a number of pills following the controversial photo of her holding a mask made to look like the severed head of former President Donald Trump in 2017, but "fell in love" with the pills she was taking and things "got out of control very rapidly."
"I thought, 'Well, I don’t even drink… Big deal, I take a couple pills now and again, who doesn’t?'" the Suddenly Susan alum shared. "Trust me… I was laughing to stay alive. And what I found is I felt like, if I can’t make others laugh, then there’s no purpose for me to live. There’s no reason for me to live."
In the aftermath of the Trump photo, Griffin and her family were receiving death threats. Griffin said they were "legit death threats with everything, from online, which [had] the Google pictures of the house, the address. I mean, folks showed up to my husband’s parents’ house. They tracked my sister down when she was dying of cancer in the hospital and called her."
In 2020, things became too much and Griffin considered suicide. "I started really convincing myself it was a good decision," she said, noting she even "wrote the note" and got "all my ducks in a row."
