Hungry Kathy Griffin, 61, Dishes On Zucchini Sticks Vs. A ‘Vegetable Medley’ Her Husband, 38, Made Her: 'Which One Do You Think I Ate?'

"The Husband made two dishes from the fresh vegetables the neighbor brought over yesterday," Griffin wrote. "One is breaded, air fried zucchini sticks & one is a summer medley. Which one do you think I ate?"

Both meals were presented on white dinner plates, with the vegetable medley appearing rich in colorful slices of yellow zucchini squash and heirloom potatoes with a garnish of spices.

The air-fried breaded zucchini looked scrumptious, presented as crunchy strips also on a white dinner plate.

"Which one do you think I ate?," asked Griffin to her nearly 700-thousand followers, many chiming in with their favorite of the two choices.

"The breaded, air-fried zucchini," wrote Carla Oaks.

Another fan, Jon Lion wrote "I'm a 31 year vegetarian… please tell Randy I NEED to know what's going on with them fried zucchini sticks!!! Teach me the wayyyy."

Griffin was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and has been public about her diagnosis and cancer battle.

She's a non-smoker and was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer, indicating the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes or other organs in the body.

Symptoms of Lung Cancer

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.

But lung cancer surgery impacts the body in various ways, including fatigue, which can leave 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 symptoms.

Doctors say breathlessness is also normal after lung cancer surgery, and long-term pain can be present as well.

In Griffin's case, she experienced complications with her vocal cord leading to fears she may never be able to perform her standup comedy routine again.

 

In an earlier Instagram post, Griffin wrote: “Ok so I have to go to the ear nose and throat doctor and get scoped again where they put a big goddamn tube down my throat and I gag and they look at my vocal cords which were damaged due to my lung cancer surgery and I'm sick to death of not having my voice and terrified it will never get better because they said it would be better by now and it isn't. Thank you for letting me get my frustrations out!"

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.

Understanding Lung Cancer

There are two main types of lung cancer. And the type of lung cancer a person is diagnosed with will inform their treatment path, as well as the predicted progression of the cancer. The two types of lung cancer are:

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type and makes up about 85% of cases
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is less common, but it tends to grow faster than NSCLC and is treated very differently.

Lung cancer is a serious cancer, but fewer people are being diagnosed annually with the disease because of the decline in smoking rates. Additionally, there have been tremendous advancements in treatment options, leading to better outcomes for some patients.

Treatment options for lung cancer can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or a combination of these treatments.

New treatments, such as immunotherapy and targeted agents, are dramatically improving the prognosis and quality of life for people diagnosed with this disease.

Staying Positive Through Cancer

Staying positive through cancer is so important.

Griffin appears to have been able to keep her spirits up with support and healthy meals from her husband.

After a cancer diagnosis, many people struggle with having emotions like grief, anxiety, fear, anger, and even depression. Griffin sharing her fears around her voice not coming back is a good way to work through that fear.

Also, speaking with a social worker or therapist throughout your cancer journey may be beneficial for you. If you’re struggling with anxiety about any part of your cancer treatment or remission, as Griffin has, consider getting help from a trusted professional.

Dr. Scott Irwin of Cedars-Sinai says in an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, "Depression is a really interesting topic, because a lot of people assume that, oh, they have cancer. They must be depressed. That's actually not true. 85% of patients do not get what would be considered a clinical depression. 15% do."

"For prescribing medications for depression in the context of cancer, I often try to choose medications with the lowest side effect profile," explains Dr. Iriwn. "If patients are getting hormonal therapy, there's particular antidepressants that we can't use, because they may lower the effectiveness of that hormonal therapy. And so we choose antidepressants that don't impact the cancer care. Depression and stress make it harder to treat cancer, make it harder to tolerate the treatments."

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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