Larry King revealed on Wednesday that he was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer and had successful surgery this summer.
“The reason I go public with it is to tell people, ‘Get a chest X-ray,’” the iconic broadcaster, 83, told “Extra” in a new interview. “If I had not had the chest X-ray, it would have progressed.”
The results of his July surgery — which was scheduled after two speaking engagements in Europe — proved that the “spot” found in his X-ray was indeed malignant.
“On July 17, I had the surgery here at Cedars,” King said. “They took it out. It was malignant. They were going to take it out if it was malignant or benign. They tested it. They said, ‘You are fine.’ It was stage 1.”
But to King — who gets an annual X-ray because of his previous heart attack and heart surgery — the diagnosis and surgery is another reminder to keep healthy. He told “Extra’s” Mario Lopez he’ll now be getting a chest X-ray every six months.
“I feel good, I get my checkups, I stay healthy and I love working,” he said of his 60 years in the business. “I do Ora.TV, I do politicking, I still make speeches, I’m active.”
“I’ll die on the air probably,” he joked.