Kathy's Loss: Losing Friend Bob Saget & Paying Tribute
- Lung cancer survivor Kathy Griffin, 61, paid loving tribute to her late friend, comedian Bob Saget, who died at age 65 in January.
- Griffin, a non-smoker, was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer in 2021; she had surgery to treat her disease.
- Coping with loss can be helped with support tools like therapy.
Taking to Instagram, Griffin, a cancer survivor, remembered her dear friend Saget. She writes, “Lovely tribute to Bob Saget by Bob's wife Kelly Rizzo @eattravelrock and his other wife @johnstamos :). Sending love for Saget in heaven.”
Read MoreView this post on InstagramWe love to see Griffin honoring her friend in this way and sharing her emotions with the world.
Kathy’s Lung Cancer Battle
Kathy Griffin was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and has been very public about her diagnosis and cancer battle. As a result, she's had an outpouring of love and support from her fans all over the world throughout her lung cancer journey.
Griffin is a non-smoker and was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer. A stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis indicates that the cancer hasn't spread to the lymph nodes or other organs in the body.
Symptoms of lung cancer typically include:
- Sudden and unexplained weight loss
- Constant coughing that becomes painful over time
- Shortness of breath
- Changes in voice or difficulty speaking without getting winded
- Pain in the torso, mid- and upper-back, and shoulders
- Discoloration or a sudden change in color of mucus and saliva
Griffin had surgery to treat her disease, which, as she shares, impacted her voice and her vocal chords. Lung cancer surgery impacts the body in various ways. It may cause fatigue, leaving the patient feeling weak and tired. There's also the risk of infection after surgery. Signs of infection after lung cancer surgery can include: shivering, feeling nauseous, swelling or redness around the surgical wound, and fluctuating temperature. Speak with your doctor if you experience any of these things.
Breathlessness is also normal after lung cancer surgery. Long-term pain can present as well. A study published by the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery examined the risk factors of vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) following lung cancer surgery in patients. The study found that 86100% of patients reported hoarseness after surgery following RLN paralysis (a nerve injury that has the potential to occur after surgery for lung cancer). And in 45% of the patients studied, hoarseness was the only symptom of VCD after lung surgery.
What Happens When You've Been Newly Diagnosed With Lung Cancer
Loss & Grief After Cancer
Losing a loved one, as Griffin did this year, is hard to face. And it can be even harder for those fighting cancer, too. It’s important to tend to your emotional health and wellness, especially during a cancer battle. Emotions like grief, anxiety, and depression are all normal to experience during cancer.
In an earlier interview, Dr. Scott Irwin, the director of Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai, says, "Grief comes in waves. It often gets better over time, but at certain days, it can look like depression. And other days, people look perfectly normal and can function."
"They're grieving the change in their life, the future they had imagined is now different," explains Dr. Irwin. "In cancer care, sometimes, we're actually forcing some body changes that are beyond what would be normal aging, and that can be even harder for people to deal with where they don't feel like themselves."
Dr. Irwin says in another interview how clinical depression may impact cancer treatment. He says, "there's data that [show] if you have extra stress or depression that you may not recover or you have a higher risk of recurrence so that in treating the depression, we're actually impacting the cancer care outcomes."
It's important to care for your mental health, alongside your physical health, while going through cancer. Reach out for support from a psychologist or therapist if you're struggling after your diagnosis. Trained professionals can help make the journey much less overwhelming.
Dealing With Grief After a Cancer Diagnosis
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