Rush Limbaugh Announces He Has Cancer

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh announced on his show yesterday that he is battling advanced lung cancer and will have to miss time on his program as he undergoes and recovers from treatment.

He received the news after going to the hospital for shortness of breath in mid-January. On his show, Limbaugh stated:

“My intention is to come here every day I can and to do this show as normally and as competently and as expertly as I do each and every day because that is the source of my greatest satisfaction professionally. I’ve had so much support from family and friends during this that it’s been tremendous. I told the staff today that I have a deeply personal relationship with God that I do not proselytize about. But I do and I have been working that relationship tremendously, which I do regularly anyway, but I’ve been focused on it intensely for the past couple of weeks.”

After the news broke, news outlets noted that Limbaugh had famously downplayed the danger of smoking through his career, going so far as to say the dangers of secondhand smoke are a "myth" and that he would "like a medal for smoking cigars."

Limbaugh has proven controversial throughout his career, often drawing heat for a variety of hard-right wing opinions. In 2003, he resigned from a brief stint at ESPN after saying Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the league wanted black athletes to do well. He compared the NFL to "a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons." He also helped coin the term feminazi, claimed Michael J. Fox exaggerated his Parkinson's disease on television to promote stem cell research, accused Iraq War veterans opposed to the war as "phony soldiers," and called law student Sandra Fluke, who had recently appealed to House Democrats about mandating insurance coverage for contraceptives, a "slut" and "prostitute."

Limbaugh's controversial history led to news of his cancer splitting Twitter, as some wished him recovery while others expressed sentiments more akin to "good riddance" and others still met somewhere in the middle.

Don’t let the political theatre of tonight distract you from the fact that Rush Limbaugh gonna be dead as shit soon

— Topshelf Tyson (@topshelftyson) February 4, 2020

Have hated Rush Limbaugh’s views on almost everything for decades. However, I do not wish cancer on anyone or the suffering it brings. Rush, I sincerely hope you beat it and pull through, you evil prick.

— Christopher 2020 Titus (@TitusNation) February 4, 2020

To Rush Limbaugh: I and my family send our love and best wishes to you and your loved ones at this difficult moment in your life. May your hearts and minds be filled with and strengthened by God's love.

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) February 4, 2020

Limbaugh recently re-signed his contract with Premiere Radio Networks for four more years, which the President announced at a rally.